Ukraine strikes Russian oil refineries hours after US waives sanctions on Moscow’s oil

Ukraine Targets Russian Oil Infrastructure Following US Sanctions Waiver

Overnight into Saturday, officials reported that Ukraine had launched strikes on two Russian oil refineries and other strategic targets, just hours after the United States granted Moscow another waiver permitting the sale of sanctioned crude oil. Ukraine’s drone forces commander, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, shared on Telegram that the country targeted refineries in Samara, including Novokuybyshevsk and Syzran, as well as the Tikhoretsk oil terminal in Krasnodar and the Vysotsk port in the Baltic Sea.

While the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that 258 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight, it did not officially confirm the strikes. However, local officials in Samara noted that industrial facilities had been attacked, with emergency services responding to the damage. The Krasnodar region Emergency Response Headquarters stated that a fire erupted at the Tikhoretsk oil depot, with 224 personnel and 56 pieces of equipment working to contain the situation.

The Leningrad region governor, Aleksandr Drozdenko, reported that a drone strike had ignited a fire at Vysotsk, which was later extinguished. Brovdi made no secret of the fact that the strikes were in response to the US renewed waiver, which allows the delivery and sale of sanctioned seaborne Russian crude through May 16, accusing the US of “cynicism” and warning the move comes with a price tag of “Ukrainian lives.”

“As negotiations accelerate, Treasury wants to ensure oil is available to those who need it,” a spokesperson for the US Treasury Department said.

The decision marked the second consecutive waiver, with the prior one ending on April 11. Despite Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s earlier statement that the administration would not renew the waiver, it was extended again on Friday.

Western allies imposed sanctions on Russian energy exports to curb funding for Putin’s war in Ukraine. The latest waiver would allow the sale of 100 million barrels of Russian crude, adding to the 100 million barrels already covered by the previous license. Higher oil prices and the waivers have already given a major boost to Russia’s struggling budget – the International Energy Agency said earlier this week that Russia’s energy revenues had nearly doubled in March, reaching $19 billion compared to $9.75 billion in February.