Russia reports fall in domestic oil production so far this year

Russia’s current oil production is lower than what it was at the start of 2026, a top official said Thursday.

“Currently, production is indeed somewhat lower than at the beginning of the year,” Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on the sidelines of this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Saying that several Russian oil refineries are currently undergoing what he described as “unscheduled” maintenance, Novak added that they are nonetheless maximizing the capacity of their export infrastructure.

“As the refineries ramp up to full capacity, production will increase and return to previous levels,” he added.

Novak’s remarks come amid continued and increased Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure in recent months, as the Russia-Ukraine war rages on, now in its fifth year.

Earlier Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses overnight intercepted and destroyed 272 Ukrainian drones across 10 regions, the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-installed head of Crimea, wrote on Telegram overnight that four people were killed and 10 others injured in the peninsula by Ukrainian attacks.

Ukraine also accused Russia of overnight airstrikes, claiming air defenses downed 264 out of 293 drones launched by Moscow overnight.

In Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Governor Vadym Filashkin said that five people were killed and 10 others injured due to Russian attacks over the past 24 hours.

Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said that three people were killed and 21 others injured due to Russian attacks in the northwestern Ukrainian region during the past day.