Ukraine says Wagner is protecting fuel transfers from Belarus to Russia

Due to the successful and systematic attacks by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on Russian oil refineries, Moscow is facing fuel shortages and has turned to Belarus for help, the Kyiv Post reported on May 20, citing information from the National Center of Resistance of Ukraine (CNR).

Belarus is now actively increasing fuel supplies to Russia, CNR confirmed. According to the Kyiv Post, the agency's comments were supported by local media reports that Belarusian refineries have seen an increase in jet fuel production, and that the fuel is being transported to Russia by rail.

According to CNR, gunmen from the private military group Wagner, along with a security battalion of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, were involved in ensuring the security of the shipments. But Belarus cannot make up for Russia’s deficit, and this is just “a way to patch up the gaps,” CNR said.

However, a source in the Defense Intelligence Agency of Ukraine (DIU) told the Kyiv Post that they could not confirm these reports.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and storage facilities have increased as Kiev's special forces pursue a strategy to deny Moscow's forces vital fuel supplies.

According to Bloomberg, citing the Pentagon's intelligence directorate, Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure earlier this year reduced the country's oil refining capacity by 14%.

The loss of capacity caused domestic fuel prices in Russia to rise by 20-30% in mid-March, and the Kremlin imposed a ban on fuel exports to meet domestic demand.

The flag of the Wagner Group mounted on an old tank is displayed at the Leninist Komsomol park in the Donetsk region, October 1, 2023. Photo: Getty Images

The Financial Times (UK), citing a source familiar with the matter, reported in March that the US had repeatedly called on Ukraine to stop drone attacks on Russian oil refineries because Washington assessed that the attacks could lead to Russian retaliation and push up global oil prices.

Repeated warnings from Washington were passed on to senior officials at Ukraine's Internal Security Service (SBU) and the DIU defence intelligence agency, sources told the Financial Times.

Ukraine resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries in late April after a month-long pause. There have been several attacks since then.

Most recently, on the night of May 19, Ukrainian intelligence conducted another special operation in Russia and attacked the Vyborg oil depot in the Leningrad region, in which Kyiv Post sources said three explosive devices were used to hit vertical fuel tanks.

In another development, Russian state news agency TASS quoted RBC newspaper on May 20 as saying that the Russian government will relax the temporary ban on gasoline exports, which has been in effect since March 1, due to the over-saturation of the domestic fuel market.

“The temporary ban on gasoline exports that came into effect on March 1 will be suspended due to the saturation of the domestic market and the completion of unscheduled repairs at refineries,” the Russian Energy Ministry told RBC.

“The refining volumes at Russian oil refineries have been restored, the overall situation of oil product distribution to consumers has improved, and the regions are fully supplied with motor fuel. Motor gasoline stocks have been increased at refineries and oil depots to meet demand. As of May 15, the total production of motor gasoline was 2.1 million tons, while diesel fuel reached 3.4 million tons,” the ministry said.

Alexander Frolov, deputy director general of the Russian National Energy Institute, told RBC that the temporary ban on gasoline exports was justified. He believes that the measure was taken not to avoid a possible fuel shortage but to “overcome the unreasonable panic on the market caused by the attacks on oil refineries.”

By April, it was clear that the refining industry could handle UAV attacks without collapsing, the expert noted .

Minh Duc (According to Kyiv Post, TASS)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/ukraine-noi-wagner-dang-bao-ve-nhien-lieu-chuyen-tu-belarus-sang-nga-a664503.html