Putin restricts publication of Russian refinery, energy data amid Ukrainian strikes

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Sept. 28 restricting access to data on the country's oil refineries and energy exports amid an intensifying Ukrainian campaign against Russia's oil infrastructure.

The decree, published on Russia's official legal information portal, restricts access to information on the volume of oil processed and products manufactured by individual Russian refineries.

It also covers a broad range of information related to Russian energy exports, including the refined product slate, export quantities, pricing, and the supply chain of sellers, buyers, and intermediaries, as well as transportation routes, terminals, and storage locations.

Information concerning vehicles used for transportation of raw materials and exports, delivery dates and export operations is also included in the restrictions.

The decree prohibits dissemination of the restricted information through the media or online unless it has been disclosed by the company involved.

Relevant customs data will also be restricted.

Putin gave the Russian government a 10-day deadline to determine which specific products will be subject to the restrictions.

Reuters reported that the decree is intended to make Western sanctions against Russia more difficult to enforce.

Limiting the dissemination of information on export volumes, buyers, transport routes and terminals can make it more difficult for governments and researchers to track Russian energy flows and identify potential sanctions evasion.

Russia has previously restricted access to energy-sector information, including crude oil production data, as Western sanctions targeting the country's energy industry have expanded since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Reuters reported.

The latest restrictions come as Ukraine has intensified long-range attacks against Russian oil infrastructure, targeting refineries, depots and other facilities that Kyiv says support Moscow's war effort.

Ukraine's General Staff said on Sept. 21 that repeated Ukrainian long-range strikes had knocked out 45% of Russia's total oil refining capacity. The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the figure.

A fire was reported at the Pavlovskaya oil depot in Russia's Krasnodar Krai overnight on Sept. 28 amid a large-scale drone attack on the region.

Two days earlier, Ukrainian forces struck the Ilsky oil refinery elsewhere in Krasnodar Krai, sparking a fire at the facility. Ukraine's General Staff later confirmed the attack.