Ukraine And Russia Discuss Halting Attacks On Energy Sites

Russia and Ukraine are in the very early stages of Qatar-mediated talks about halting attacks on each other’s energy facilities and infrastructure, the Financial Times reports, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

Over the past year, Russia has attacked Ukrainian energy facilities, targeting power plants. Ukraine, for its part, has been targeting oil depots, terminals, and refineries.

Previous talks on a potential halt to these attacks from both sides were close to reaching an agreement in August this year.

But the negotiations were derailed by the surprise Ukrainian ground incursion into the Kursk region in Russia in early August, according to FT’s sources.

Very early-stage talks have reportedly resumed now, and “There’s now talks on the energy facilities,” a diplomat told FT.

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the two sides need to agree to halt attacks on crucial civilian energy and food infrastructure, as a step toward potential de-escalation of the most aggressive phase of the war so far.

Attacks on energy infrastructure have been dialed down from both sides in recent weeks, as part of an understanding between the Ukrainian and Russian intelligence agencies, a senior Ukrainian official told FT.

Refineries and oil depots in Russia, especially those in the southwest, have seen extensive maintenance and halts due to attacks from Ukrainian drones this year.

Scheduled maintenance is also boosting the idle refining capacity in Russia this month. Russia has raised the refining capacity volumes it expects to be idle this month by 67% compared to an earlier plan, due to scheduled maintenance at major refineries, Reuters estimates showed  earlier this month.

Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure have become a fixture this year, with drones the weapon of choice for conducting the strikes.

Russia, for its part, has been targeting power plants, which has crippled Ukrainian electricity supply.

Source: Oilprice.com