US sanctions prevent Russia from repairing oil refineries - Reuters

Reuters reports this with reference to its own sources.

It is noted that on January 4, engineers of the Russian oil company Lukoil discovered a turbine malfunction at its Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery. There was only one company that knew how to repair the gasoline production unit. According to sources familiar with the incident, the problem was that the company was American.

"They (engineers) were scrambling to find spare parts and couldn't find anything. Then the entire unit just stopped," said a source close to Lukoil.

In addition, a catalytic cracker used to convert heavy hydrocarbons into gasoline has been out of production since January, and it is not known when it can be repaired due to a lack of expertise in Russia.

"As a result, NORSI, Russia's fourth-largest refinery, cut gasoline production by 40%," the source said.

However, these difficulties have been exacerbated by Ukrainian drone attacks that have hit at least a dozen Russian refineries this year. Reuters estimates that the attacks forced Russian refineries to shut down about 14% of their capacity in the first quarter.

• Former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker said that the West's bans on attacking businesses in Russia are a way to "fight with one hand tied behind your back."