Reuters: Ukrainian march attacks reduce Russian gasoline production by 25% economy

Two informed sources told Reuters that Russia’s daily gasoline production fell sharply this week, after attacks by Ukrainian drones caused the halt of work at major oil refining plants in the center of the country.

The two sources indicated that Russia lost about 25% of its gasoline production, compared to the daily average in June 2025, as production declined to about 90 thousand tons (765 thousand barrels) per day.

The two sources added that the closure of the Moscow refinery and the Taniko refinery in Tatarstan, two of the largest refineries, last week led to a loss of 15,000 tons per day, pushing production to its lowest levels in months.

Ukraine has intensified its drone attacks on Russian energy sites over the past three months, disrupting operations at key plants, causing fuel shortages and rising retail gasoline prices in some areas of the country.

On the other hand, Russia launched march attacks on several Ukrainian cities on Friday morning, according to Agence France-Presse, killing at least 3 individuals and wounding others.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Friday that Russian air strikes on Ukraine “will continue.”

These strikes come the day after a massive Ukrainian air attack using drones resulted in severe damage in the Moscow region, including a fire in a major oil refinery in the capital.

Constant attacks

The two sources stated that gasoline production decreased this week by between 20% and 25% compared to the levels recorded in March of this year, before the start of the intense attacks on Russian refineries.

The two sources indicated that the decrease in gasoline production heralds a fuel shortage⁠⁠in Russia. Domestic consumption of gasoline during the peak summer season is estimated at no less than 110 thousand tons per day.

The two sources added that production declined steadily from about 120,000 tons per day in March to 110,000 tons in April and 100,000 tons in May, before reaching 90,000 tons per day in June.

Russian interest rate cut

In a related context, the Russian Central Bank reduced the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 14.25% today, Friday, which is less than the 50 basis points expected by analysts, indicating risks resulting from adopting a lenient approach to the budget policy and the decline in fuel production.

The central bank said, “The chances of inflation rising have increased due to a temporary decline in automobile fuel production,” which is the first official confirmation from a high-level body on the extent of the impact of the attacks on the economy, according to Reuters.

The head of the Russian Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, appeared after an absence of three weeks, which raised speculation that she might leave her position, to say in a press conference after the decision to cut interest rates that she had been suffering from influenza and had lost her voice for some time.

The Russian Statistical Authority (Rosstat) reported that average gasoline prices in Russia rose 1% during the week ending June 15. Gasoline prices have increased by 6.6% since the beginning of the year, compared to the inflation rate of 5.3%.