Kyiv: Over 50% of Moscow's refining capacity taken out

Ukraine says its long-range strikes have neutralized more than half of Russia's oil refining capacity, hampering Moscow's ability to supply its forces during its 4 1/2-year-old invasion.The Defense Ministry said late Sunday that recent strikes on refineries in cities including Moscow, Yaroslavl, Ust-Luga, Perm, Saratov and Syzran had put 51% of Russia's oil refining capacity out of action. The claim could not be independently verified.Both Moscow and Kyiv have intensified their aerial assaults as progress along the 1,200-kilometer front line has largely ground to a halt.Fuel crisisUkrainian forces have repeatedly attacked refineries from Moscow to Siberia, sparking a widespread fuel crisis in Russia earlier this year that forced authorities to restrict gasoline sales.Also read | Mecca alliance agrees to activate collective deterrence measures to respond to attacksRussian officials have not publicly revealed any data on damage caused to the country's oil infrastructure. However, President Vladimir Putin said in a rare admission on Oct. 1 that the strikes had cost Russia roughly 1% of its gross domestic product."They started attacking oil refineries and openly declared the goal of damaging our economy. Did they achieve their goal? Partially," Putin said.Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara said analysts from Ukraine's intelligence services, the General Staff and the Defense Ministry had assessed the strikes' effects."Fifty-one percent of struck refining capacity is a significant blow to the enemy's economy, to its ability to carry out aggression and supply its troop groupings. Our deep strikes continue to bring the war to Russian territory," he said.Govt subsidy risesRussia's government last month paid oil companies the biggest subsidy in more than four years to supply road fuels to the domestic market amid Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries.Also read | Saudi-backed Yemeni forces expel the Houthis from several areas around key strait, officials sayThe subsidies totaled $3.6 billion in September, according to data from the Russian Finance Ministry published on Monday. That's the highest monthly payout since the April 2022 record.