Russia publicly acknowledged a Ukrainian drone strike on its Ryazan refinery and showed the aftermath on state TV. US President Donald Trump blames Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries for high fuel prices as his Republicans face midterm elections.
Russia has publicly acknowledged a Ukrainian drone strike on a major oil refinery this week and broadcast images on state media. The move breaks with its usual practice and highlights an attack Trump has criticized, calling Ukraine's resumption of strikes a disgrace in an interview broadcast on Thursday.
Moscow breaks with its usual practice
Ukraine has frequently struck Russian oil refineries, and officials typically describe the attacks as hits on industrial sites. This time, the regional governor immediately identified the target of Thursday's attack in Ryazan as the refinery, one of Russia's largest.
For the first time since the start of the war, state TV showed the aftermath of a refinery attack. The Rossiya-24 channel showed the Ryazan plant, southeast of Moscow, with a relatively small plume of black smoke. No fire was visible.
Trump ties refinery strikes to fuel prices
Russia is keen to play up the incident, which took place four days after Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv that neither side confirmed. Ukraine says it paused such attacks for three days in deference to Trump but resumed them because Russia kept pounding its thermal power plants and other energy infrastructure.
Trump is under pressure to lower fuel prices, with his Republicans facing midterm elections in less than three weeks. Diesel prices have reached record highs since he launched a war against Iran in February, though Trump says Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries are driving up global prices.
At the weekend, Trump said such attacks "damn well better stop". Last week, he and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a deal on Russian diesel exports to US and global markets to bring down prices.
Putin vows a response
Putin said on Thursday that recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries had not caused significant damage and vowed that Moscow would respond.
Source: Investing.com
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