Source : Perth Now news
Ukraine has kept up its heavy drone assault on Russia, setting fire to a major oil refinery in the south and killing at least two people, Russian authorities say as President Vladimir Putin acknowledged his country is going through a “difficult period”.
Ukraine has markedly stepped up its long-range attacks on Russian military industries and energy facilities in recent months, aiming to cut Russia’s revenue for its invasion – now in its fifth year – and make the Russian population feel the consequences.
“Our ‘long-range sanctions’ reached two oil refineries in Russia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on social media.
“Each (strike) means a reduction in the resources that fuel the Russian war machine, and another step toward peace.”
Debris from downed Ukrainian drones sparked a blaze at the refinery in Slavyansk-na-Kubani, a town in Russia’s Krasnodar region, east of occupied Crimea, according to Governor Veniamin Kondratyev.
The falling debris killed one person in Slavyansk and wounded another in a nearby village, local authorities said.
The Slavyansk site is one of southern Russia’s major refineries, processing close to four million tonnes of crude per year, according to its operator’s website.
It is also a key source of petroleum products intended for export through Russia’s Black Sea ports, including fuel oil, naphtha and marine fuel.
Zelenskiy also claimed that a second Russian refinery, in the Yaroslavl region about 700km from the Ukrainian border, was hit during the night-time strikes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on Sunday that the country was “going through a difficult period” but insisted that the government would “honour all its social obligations” to citizens.
He did not directly reference the Ukrainian strikes or fuel shortages.
“Naturally, we are adjusting certain plans in light of the current situation but all strategically important (domestic) development programs will undoubtedly be implemented in full,” Putin said at a conference of his ruling United Russia party ahead of parliamentary elections due in September.
“We will continue to build housing and roads, create new, modern, high-paying jobs, and support domestic businesses,” he said.
“We are going through a difficult period but this has taught us a great deal, and allowed us to grasp the very essence of what it means to be a Russian citizen.”
The constant Ukrainian attacks on oil facilities have already left deeper traces in Russians’ everyday lives.
The fuel crisis, which began in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, has now spread to almost all regions of the country.
Long queues are forming at the service stations that are still selling petrol.
In Crimea, service stations are no longer supplying fuel to private individuals.
with AP and DPA
