And now, of all times, Trump comes along wanting to put a stop to the attacks on oil refineries… Putin’s war in Ukraine is inflicting devastating damage on the company Rosneft, Bloomberg reports. ▪️ According to Bloomberg’s calculations—based on public data from both countries—Ukrainian drones have carried out at least 114 attacks on Russian oil refineries since the beginning of the year. That is more than double the number seen during the same period last year. ▪️ These attacks have pushed processing volumes at Russian refineries to their lowest levels in years, led to fuel shortages, and forced Moscow to restrict exports of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. In September alone, Ukrainian strikes damaged five of the company’s 15 refineries located in the European part of Russia. ▪️ The Ryazan refinery was hit particularly hard; it was targeted repeatedly just as Rosneft was attempting to resume operations there. Another facility, the Syzran refinery, has spent much of the last six months either completely offline or running at less than a third of its capacity. Furthermore, the Tuapse refinery on the Black Sea coast has been shut down since April. ▪️ The constant need to repair damaged facilities complicates operations and drives up costs to a level that—as Rosneft representatives have admitted internally—is unsustainable in the long term. Consequently, repairs at some refineries are being intentionally slowed down; work that should only take a few days is now dragging on for weeks, according to sources. ▪️ Sanctions are further exacerbating the situation by restricting access to spare parts. Rosneft is therefore forced to rely on Russian-made alternatives or imports from China—goods that can take months to procure and are not always compatible with existing equipment. ▪️ The company’s financial losses are mounting. In the first half of the year, Rosneft’s net profit fell by nearly a fifth to 200 billion rubles ($2.4 billion). By the end of June, the ratio of net debt to EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) had risen to 1.8x—the highest level in more than five years, according to quarterly reports dating back to 2020. ▪️ Rosneft’s troubles coincide with signs of financial distress at the Credit Bank of Moscow (MKB)—an institution that market participants and officials associate with the sphere of influence of Sechin and his oil giant. As reported by Bloomberg, it emerged last month that MKB holds $8 billion in non-performing loans on its books. ———————— And now, of all times, Trump comes along, seeking to put a stop to attacks on oil refineries… 📹 Archive footage of the burning Ryazan oil refinery.