One detail in Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries that is being overlooked
Strikes on Russian oil refineries, besides causing immediate damage, have another important long-term component – Russia lacks storage facilities for oil.
All of it was either exported or processed, and this has been the case since Soviet times. No one cared about building large storage facilities, like the famous "salt domes" in Texas and Louisiana in the U.S., where the strategic oil reserve is stored.
The story of the tankers that sank and polluted the Black Sea is a vivid illustration. They were used as floating storage facilities. Well, keeping oil in river vessels in a stormy sea is just brilliant, but that's not the point right now.
If their production capacities and storage possibilities are systematically destroyed (and strikes on oil depots are delivered more than regularly), serious problems can be created for them.
To which sanctions against the "shadow" fleet have now been added.
All of this works, but unfortunately, not quickly.
Although at some point, an avalanche effect may occur.
