Foreign Affairs

TexasTowelie

(119,833 posts) Sat Mar 15, 2025, 04:07 PM Mar 15

No more oil money! Ukraine cripples Russia's biggest oil pipeline! - RFU News

Today, there are a lot of interesting updates from the Russian Federation.

Here, as Ukrainian drones penetrated deep into Russian territory, explosions lit up the skies over Moscow and several key cities. While strikes on oil refineries and military targets were significant, one attack stood out: the hit on the Druzhba pipeline, creating international ripple effects beyond Russia’s borders as exports suddenly dropped.

As you remember from a previous report, Ukrainians destroyed a significant number of Russian air defenses in Crimea, along the frontline and deep in the rear, while also threatening to strike the Kerch Strait bridge again. This forced Russia to relocate air defense systems to cover newly exposed weak spots. However, this played into Ukraine’s strategy, as the large-scale redeployments left several key targets vulnerable.

This allowed Ukrainians to deploy hundreds of drones to penetrate Russia’s air defense grid, which was spread thin by the countless destroyed systems and subsequent relocations. As a result, Ukrainian drones reached as far as Moscow, with the first confirmed strike hitting the Oka-Center oil depot in Serpukhov, inflicting significant damage during the day.

What followed was Russia’s most restless night yet, as Russian reports state that over 337 Ukrainian drones struck Moscow, Kursk, Belgorod, Oryol, Lipetsk, Bryansk, and Ryazan in the largest drone strike to date. Strikes hit oil refineries in the Moscow area, including the city’s largest refinery, which supplies up to 50% of its diesel and gasoline consumption. Explosions near the Ryazan military airfield put all Russian airports on high alert, along with undermining the rapid response capabilities of the Russian air force. Additionally, a control station for the Druzhba pipeline in Oryol was hit, halting Russian oil exports to Central Europe and, in particular, Hungary.

The Druzhba pipeline, one of the world's largest, with a capacity of 2 million barrels per day, is a critical conduit for Russian oil exports to Central European refineries. Hungary imports most of its crude oil and gas via the Druzhba pipeline, with over forty percent of Hungarian gas being Russian, making the strike on the control station particularly devastating for them. As a result, the Hungarian foreign minister, Peter Szijjártó, called it an attack on their sovereignty when the oil and gas supply stopped.

The halt of operation of the Druzhba pipeline would mean that Hungary would have to import much more expensive oil and gas from allies like the USA and Norway. The cancelation of Russian oil and gas exports to Hungary could jeopardize the Russian hold on the Hungarian energy sector, as the country would have to increase its overall reliance on Europe for its energy needs.

Besides gas, the second largest Hungarian energy source is nuclear power from its only nuclear power plant in Paks. This nuclear power plant depends on nuclear fuel and uranium rods from Russia as well as their engineers and expertise, consolidating the Russian monopoly on the Hungarian energy sector. Through this, Russia maintains its strict control over Hungary, as only Russian specialists and companies can currently maintain the reactors and supply critical equipment and fuel for its maintenance. As nuclear power generates over a third of the country's electricity, Hungary remains reliant on Russia to sustain its energy infrastructure.

The Hungarian foreign minister stated that he had discussed the situation with the deputy Russian energy minister, who assured him that repairs of the pipeline control station were underway and supplies would resume soon. If Russia does not accept the ceasefire, at least in the air, Ukraine can exert much more pressure on the Russian energy hold on Hungary by launching follow-up strikes to further destroy critical export infrastructure and delay repairs.

Overall, Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and energy infrastructure are escalating, with the latest attack hitting Moscow’s main refinery, which supplies half the city's energy needs. Additionally, damage to the Druzhba pipeline control station temporarily halted Russian energy exports to Hungary. Continued strikes could strain Russia’s economy and weaken its geopolitical influence, potentially pushing it toward negotiating a ceasefire, at least in the airspace over Russia and Ukraine.