Vladimir Putin’s address to parliament broadcast near a petrol station in Moscow on 29 February. Photo: EPA-EFE/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
The price of petrol in Russia has hit a six-month high following a series of Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries across the country, Russian business outlet RBC reported on Thursday.
One tonne of petrol now costs 60,569 rubles (€604), its highest price since September when fuel shortages led to prices reaching all-time highs, forcing Russia to introduce a temporary ban on exporting petrol in an effort to stabilise the domestic market.
Despite another embargo on exports introduced on 1 March, petrol prices continue to rise as oil refineries targeted by the strikes are forced to halt production.
On Tuesday production was halted at a Lukoil refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region of central Russia after a drone strike caused a fire at the facility — one of Russia’s largest — which processes around 6% of the country’s total crude oil.
On Wednesday a fire also broke out at a Rosneft refinery in the neighbouring Ryazan region following a drone attack, while operations were suspended at a refinery in Russia’s southern Rostov region after debris from downed drones damaged the facility.
Russia’s Energy Ministry said on Wednesday that the fuel situation in the country was “stable” and was being “monitored daily”, adding that it saw no risk of retail petrol prices increasing.
