Ukraine Strikes Russian Refineries After US Oil Waiver
SkimNews Take
The simultaneous timing of the US sanctions waiver and Ukrainian strikes suggests a complex interplay where economic and military actions, though seemingly independent, can create immediate, reactive consequences on the global energy landscape.
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- Ukraine struck the Novokuybyshevsk and Syzran refineries in Russia's Samara region, the Tikhoretsk oil terminal in Krasnodar, the Baltic port of Vysotsk, and an oil depot in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, per drone forces commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi.
- Brovdi framed the overnight attacks as retaliation for the renewed US waiver, accusing Washington of "cynicism" and warning the move carries a cost of "Ukrainian lives."
- The US Treasury issued the waiver on Friday, allowing delivery and sale of sanctioned seaborne Russian crude through May 16 — the second such license, after the first expired on April 11.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had told reporters as recently as Wednesday that the administration would not renew the waiver, making Friday's reversal a direct contradiction of that statement.
- Russia's Defense Ministry reported intercepting 258 Ukrainian drones overnight but did not acknowledge the refinery strikes, while regional governors confirmed fires and damage, with Krasnodar deploying 224 personnel and 56 pieces of equipment to the Tikhoretsk blaze.
- Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev said Saturday the extension covers 100 million barrels of Russian oil, on top of 100 million barrels under the previous license.
- The International Energy Agency reported Russia's energy revenues nearly doubled in March to $19 billion from $9.75 billion in February, with higher prices and the waivers already boosting Moscow's war finances.
Why it matters: The waiver reversal directly contradicts Bessent's public assurance from days earlier and follows the first license's April 11 expiration, handing Russia an additional 100 million barrels of sanctioned crude to sell while Ukraine's retaliatory strikes show Kyiv is no longer waiting for Western policy to align with its interests.
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