US declines to back Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, neither encouraging nor supporting them

The United States never supported Ukraine's initiative to strike on the territory of Russia, the spokesman of the State Department, Matthew Miller, said at a briefing.

Miller was asked to comment on press reports in which Washington allegedly asked Kyiv not to strike oil refineries inside Russia again.

"I won't speak to specific conversations but it's also been our position since the outset of this war that we do not encourage or support Ukraine taking strikes outside its own territory," the State Department spokesman said.

To a clarifying question, whether there were any talks about the refinery between American and Ukrainian officials, Miller did not answer directly.

He only noted that the American position is well known to the Ukrainian government, so "it's not something they would be unaware."

On March 12, as a result of a drone strike at the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery in the Russian town of Kstovo (the fourth largest in Russia) the unit, which accounts for more than 50% of the primary processing capacity of the plant, failed.

On March 13, the Security Service of Ukraine attacked with drones three of the five largest oil refineries in Russia – in Kstovo, Ryazan and Kirishi (Leningrad Oblast). The Russian authorities also announced the shutdown of the Novoshakhtinsky Refinery in Rostov Oblast. The biggest damage was done to the Ryazan Refinery (the third largest in Russia) – it probably lost 70% of its primary oil processing capacity.

On March 15, a small refinery "First Plant" in Kaluga Oblast came under attack.

The last of the attacks on the refinery took place on March 17 when the SBU attacked the Slaviansky Refinery in Krasnodar Krai with drones.