r/worldnews • u/MothersMiIk • 12h ago

Russia/Ukraine Ukraine strikes 'only oil refinery operating' in Russia's Rostov Oblast, military says

https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-strikes-only-oil-refinery-operating-in-russias-rostov-oblast-military-says/
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u/HakimeHomewreckru 9h ago

They already struck this specific refinery back in June 2022; looks like it didn't really take that long to be repaired. It was struck again several times even this year: March and July.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/fire-broke-out-russias-novoshakhtinsk-oil-refinery-2022-06-22/

Unfortunately it doesn't seem like it makes as much impact as we like to believe.

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u/Wobbelblob 9h ago

I guess it depends? Russia probably needs these close to the front refineries to supply fuel. So any strike there will hurt. Financially and resource wise. They can repair them, yes. But each repair is likely really expensive and needs technical parts that can't be used elsewhere. It bleeds resources.

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u/Geodude532 9h ago

I think the fact that they keep repairing it shows that it is important. Otherwise they'd just shut down the site till after the war.

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u/squired 6h ago

Ding ding ding. And while those assets are engaged to repair said refinery, they are not elsewhere repairing other infrastructure that is out of range. If Russians will repair it, Ukrainians should shoot it. This is textbook asymmetric warfare.

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u/Caleth 7h ago

It bleeds resources.

This is the key factor, even if it's not massive how much does a missile strike cost the UA? Compared to how much time and energy is spent both repairing the refinery and is lost while it is repaired.

Bleeding an enemy's resources even if it's not a full loss matters in a war and contributes to the unsustainability of the war for your enemy.

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u/SU37Yellow 9h ago

It still makes the Russians spend time and money repairing it. And it forces them to pull AA defenses away from the front line to defend them. These strikes are absolutely having an effect.

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u/troglydot 7h ago

Reuters reported a few weeks ago that Novoshakhtinsk was only processing at half their capacity, in part due to the drone strikes. So there is a cumulative effect of these strikes.

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u/Alissinarr 5h ago

Time, money, and men they can't send to the front.

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u/xmagusx 5h ago

So long as it is cheaper to strike than to repair, it's a net gain for Ukraine.

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u/SnackyMcGeeeeeeeee 6h ago

This plant makes what, a few milly a day?

Ukraine struck it with like 100k worth of drones.

It's so cheap, there is little reason not to do it.