Some Russian oil refineries are building walls out of shipping containers to protect them from attacks by Ukrainian drones.
The Militarny portal reported this . Such structures made from cargo containers were already spotted in September at the Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery, as well as at the Basic Aviation Fuel Operator fueling complex in Sochi.
It is noted that the containers are placed around tanks and process units. “The containers are stacked on top of each other in several tiers, forming a barrier between the equipment and the surrounding area,” the report states. Experts noted that a wall could partially shield a tank or installation from debris and a low-flying drone. However, they emphasized that an open-topped facility remains vulnerable to aerial attack.
Experts suggested that the barriers could limit the spread of spilled oil and fire to nearby equipment, but “the effectiveness of the new container protection during attacks is still unknown.”
The report states that Russian oil refineries are simultaneously continuing to erect anti-drone nets and metal frames around certain facilities. These structures are designed to intercept drones before they impact equipment or to mitigate the impact of an impact.
As reported, on the night of September 13, drones attacked the industrial zone of the city of Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan, where the Russians have large oil refineries.
Nizhnekamsk is located more than 1200 km from the state border of Ukraine.
According to Nizhnekamsk Mayor Radmir Belyaev, industrial facilities in Nizhnekamsk were damaged, including a fire. However, he did not specify which enterprises were hit.
Bloomberg, citing a report from the International Energy Agency, reports that within the next year and a half, Russia could lose a third of its pre-war oil refining capacity due to Ukrainian strikes on refineries and equipment repair issues. Meanwhile, sanctions are increasingly complicating the restoration of Russian oil refining.
It is noted that prolonged drone attacks and the fragmented nature of repair work negatively impact the system and lead to the degradation of oil refining.
Ukraine is targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure to reduce its ability to process and export oil and to reduce the Kremlin’s war-mongering revenues.
