April 30 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, said on Thursday its drones struck an oil refinery near Russia’s city of Perm, marking a second consecutive attack on oil facilities in the area as Kyiv seeks to curb Moscow’s energy revenues used to fund the war.
The Lukoil-owned refinery, located more than 1,500 km (932 miles) from Ukraine, is one of the largest in Russia and has the capacity of nearly 13 million metric tons per year, the SBU said.
Lukoil did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to preliminary information, the strike hit a key facility for primary oil processing at the refinery, effectively putting the unit out of action, the SBU said.
It added that it again struck an oil pumping station in the area, which provides oil supply to the refinery. The station was attacked overnight on Wednesday and Thursday’s attack caused new pockets of fire, it said.
Ukraine has intensified its attacks in Russia, designed to disrupt Russia’s oil industry and slash revenue that helps Moscow fund the war in Ukraine, as global prices rose amid the Iran war and sanctions were eased on Moscow.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Alex Richardson and Louise Heavens)
