US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin believes that Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries could have consequences for the global energy situation. He considers that it is better to attack other targets, according to Bloomberg.
“Those attacks could have a knock-on effect in terms of the global energy situation,” said Austin during the Senate Armed Services committee meeting. “Ukraine is better served in going after tactical and operational targets that can directly influence the current fight.”
This statement was immediately criticized by Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who stated that the administration of US President Joe Biden is hindering Ukraine's active actions for political reasons.
"It sounds to me that the Biden administration doesn’t want gas prices to go up in an election year,” Cotton said.
Attacks on oil refineries
Recently, explosions at Russian oil refineries have become increasingly frequent. Russians complain about drone attacks.
As repeatedly reported by sources of RBC-Ukraine, Ukrainian defenders are behind these strikes. They have already attacked refineries in several regions, including Tatarstan, which is over a thousand kilometers from Ukraine's border.
A NATO representative, in a comment to journalists, revealed that such attacks could disable over 15% of Russia's oil refining capacity.
He also clarified that repairing Russian refineries after strikes could take significant time.
Amidst this, the Financial Times wrote that the United States urged Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian refineries. Washington is concerned that this will lead to a rise in global oil prices and gasoline prices in the United States, which could harm President Joe Biden's reelection.
However, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, reacting to this information, noted that Ukraine has not received such requests from the United States.