Oleksandr Okhrimenko: Ukraine must destroy Russian refineries
25 March 2024 09:10
ЕКСКЛЮЗИВ
If Ukraine wants to defeat Russia, it simply has to destroy Russian oil refineries. This was stated in an exclusive comment to Komersant ukrainskyi 
by Oleksandr Okhrimenko, director of the Ukrainian Analytical Group, said in an exclusive interview with Kommersant Ukrainskyi.
The expert believes that the information that the United States allegedly asked Ukraine not to strike at Russian refineries is a complete fabrication.
“Officially, the US has never forbidden Ukraine to strike Russian refineries. Unfortunately, very often journalists both in Ukraine and abroad write lies. When they refer not to the president or the secretary of state, but to top-secret materials, it is a lie,”
– says Okhrimenko.
He is sure that the destruction of Russian refineries is even beneficial for the US, so the information from the Financial Times makes no sense.
“I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we are destroying fuel refineries, and Russia is the biggest seller of crude oil. Exports of fuel to Russia are small, especially since our strikes reduced its production and Russia banned exports. But this is even beneficial for both Saudi Arabia and the United States. It stimulates a more attractive price for fuel produced by them,”
– the analyst said.
Okhrimenko added that Ukraine needs to destroy Russian refineries as they are one of the key elements of the Russian economy:
“Ukraine is doing everything right. The Russian economy happens to be dependent on oil. If Ukraine destroys Russia’s oil refining industry, it will give Ukraine the opportunity to win. If it does not destroy it, it will never win. Therefore, it must be completely destroyed! Ukraine’s victory means destroying Russia’s oil refineries, there is no other way.”
As a reminder, the Financial Times, citing its own sources, reported that Washington is secretly urging Ukraine to stop attacking Russian oil refineries. This, they say, increases global oil prices, which the Biden administration does not want on the eve of the election. Analysts say they see no connection between the strikes on Russian refineries and oil prices.
