Russia Hit with Unexpected Headache from Oil Refinery Attacks

Russian workers are quitting their jobs at oil refineries en masse over safety fears amid a spate of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting President Vladimir Putin's energy infrastructure, according to a report.

A former employee at the Kuibyshev Refinery, which is one of the largest oil industry enterprises in the Samara region, and owned by Rosneft, the country's largest oil producer, said he and many others resigned after the facility was attacked by Ukrainian drones in late March.

The Kuibyshev refinery halted all production after it sustained damage in the attack, Reuters reported at the time, noting that around 14 percent of Russia's refining capacity had been shut down by drone attacks.

Ukraine has been attacking Russian energy infrastructure facilities to target Putin's oil industry, the cornerstone of his country's economy. Moscow depends on its oil exports and energy industry, which make up some 30 percent of the country's budget revenues and are crucial for the funding of the war in Ukraine. Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment by email.

The former employee told Russian news outlet Vot Tak that at least seven chemical analysis laboratory technicians quit after the attack. The publication said it found that in April the refinery posted about 50 advertisements—mostly for engineers or technical support crew—in a bid to draw in new employees.

Vot Tak found that employees have also quit in large numbers at the Slavyansk oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar region, which was damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack late last month, forcing authorities to suspend some operations.

"People all over the plant have also left, it's not safe to work there now," a current employee of the Slavyansk oil refinery told the news outlet.

Vot Tak found a large number of adverts for jobs the plant in April. Of the more than 120 new vacancies, half were related to technical support.

Kyiv has increased its attacks on Russian refineries this year, hampering gasoline production. Olha Stefanishyna, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister, said in March that Russian oil refineries were legitimate military targets.

In March, Vasyl Malyuk, the head of Ukraine's Security Service, said the government agency was behind all attacks on Russian oil hubs and that they would continue. The agency has estimated that it has carried out at least 13 successful attacks on Russian oil refineries during the war so far.

On Thursday morning, a drone struck the Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery in the republic of Bashkortostan, nearly 1,000 miles from the border with Ukraine—the most far-reaching drone attack on a Russian target in the war so far.

Sources in Ukraine's Security Service told online news outlet Ukrainska Pravda it was behind the attack.

Drones also struck an oil refinery in Russia's Kaluga region late on Thursday, causing a fire and explosions. No casualties were reported, and the blaze has since been extinguished.

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