Ukraine hits Russia’s Samara oil station for a third time in October

Ukrainian forces have hit the Samara oil station in Russia for the third time since early October, thereby rejecting US requests to stop striking Russian oil facilities. According to US media, Washington is even threatening to cut Kyiv off from intelligence.

“The Samara oil station has taken its third hit since the beginning of October,” the Ukrainian newspaper reported. According to its information, the station near the village of Prosvet is a key hub for receiving, storing and blending oil. “This is where Russia’s Urals-type export blend is prepared,” the outlet noted.

Ukraine’s General Staff said earlier that the October 2 strike damaged 14 large oil tanks, part of the pipelines and the oil loading equipment at the station. In the October 7 strike, drones destroyed four tanks, and a large fire spread across the whole facility.

US demands an end to refinery strikes

According to Axios, US President Donald Trump decided to strike a diesel fuel deal with Russia after, as he put it, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ignored half a dozen US requests to stop striking Russian oil refineries.

Now, according to the same report, the Americans are even threatening to cut Ukraine off from intelligence if it does not stop attacking Russian oil infrastructure. The White House wants Ukraine to unilaterally stop hitting Russian refineries because the strikes contribute to high fuel prices in the US. Zelensky told Trump and his envoys that he is ready to stop striking Russian refineries if the Russians stop striking Ukrainian power plants.

Moscow has made an “energy truce” conditional on easing anti-Russian sanctions, and Trump has partly met it halfway by granting an exemption for diesel fuel sales. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) sees the mistake of the US president’s move primarily in the fact that he demanded no concessions from Putin on Ukraine in return.

“Permitting Russian diesel exports will increase Russia’s revenues and expand the resources it has to continue the war against Ukraine. This, in turn, will complicate US efforts to end the war,” ISW noted.

Source: novinky.cz