Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries are intensifying global fuel price increases, according to Bloomberg. The attacks on Russian energy facilities, combined with sanctions and regional outages, have significantly reduced the supply of diesel and gasoline worldwide.
Refining margins in the US, Europe, and Asia are now at their highest levels for this time of year since at least 2,018, according to the outlet.
The strikes, alongside outages at key plants in Asia and Africa, have removed millions of barrels of diesel and gasoline from the global market, Bloomberg said. US sanctions on Russian energy giants Lukoil and Rosneft in October, along with restrictions imposed by the EU, have also contributed to price hikes.
Additional pressure has come from shutdowns and outages at refineries in Kuwait and Nigeria, which have further exacerbated the supply shortage.
Ukraine has targeted oil depots, processing plants, and metering stations with drones and missiles, calling them legitimate facilities that support Russia’s ‘war machine.’
Russia, in turn, has struck elements of Ukraine’s power grid, saying the infrastructure supports the Ukrainian military.
In August, Hungary imposed sanctions on Ukraine’s top drone commander, Robert Brovdi, after repeated strikes disrupted the flow of crude through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline.