Russia says drone attacks resumed, targeting 3 refineries and a gas chemicals complex
Key Facts
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said drone attacks on Russian oil refineries resumed on October 30, after a period of calm. He added that the attacks hit 3 refineries and one gas chemicals complex, and that one facility sustained minor damage. The statements were reported by TASS, citing Novak, who described the attacks as having resumed after a pause. The official said Russian defense and protection systems operated during the attack. Moscow’s account provides details about the scale of the targeting and the damage, but does not independently establish who carried out the attacks.
The resumption followed an unofficial pause that began early in the week before the Wall Street Journal report, according to sources cited by the newspaper. The pause was expected to continue beyond the U.S. midterm elections and possibly into later in November. The report attributed the pause to weeks of pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. The newspaper said that pressure had shaken Kyiv’s confidence in the continuation of U.S. support. The newspaper did not describe the pause as a formal agreement, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine had not halted its strikes on refineries; claims by either side about the strikes could not be independently verified.
The attacks come after disruptions to Russian fuel production in previous months. A Reuters report, citing a market covered by MarketScreener, said weekly attacks on refineries since mid-March had caused domestic fuel shortages. The attacks prompted authorities to ban exports of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, and to begin importing petroleum products by sea. In September, attack damage forced half of Russia’s 6 largest diesel-producing refineries to sharply cut or halt production, according to the Reuters report. This places the attacks reported in October within a period of direct pressure on crude processing and fuel availability inside Russia.
The pause in attacks during the second half of October coincided with a recovery in refinery activity, according to estimates Reuters cited from three oil industry sources. The sources estimated that crude processing rose 25% compared with the start of the month after sustained attacks stopped. Three traders, speaking anonymously, said processing reached about 5 million barrels per day in the second half of October, up nearly 25% from the start of the month. The estimate indicates that the lull coincided with processing rates returning to a higher level during the month. Reuters also cited the International Energy Agency as saying a Russian refinery was successfully hit an average of once every 3 days during the first eight months of 2026.
On exports, TASS said Russia plans to export 510,000 tonnes of diesel in October, and November shipments could reach 2.15 million tonnes. The November figure remains a possible estimate for shipments, while the October figure concerns that month’s export plan. These figures follow restrictions authorities imposed on diesel exports amid domestic fuel shortages that followed the attacks, as reported by Reuters. The announced plan highlights Moscow’s efforts to direct diesel shipments in the coming period, as attacks on processing facilities have resumed, according to Novak. The available information included no data on oil or fuel price movements following the announcement of the resumption.