Why I am happy when oil prices rise

Kateryna grew up spending summers in Tuapse, Russia. Today, it is on fire from Ukrainian drone strikes — and Kateryna is excited.

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By DebDag

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My second cousin Ilya, my mom, and I, center, on the beach in Nebug, 17 km from Tuapse in Russia. The same Black Sea coast that is burning today.

KYIV, Ukraine — In the early 2000s, I was still a kid. Every summer, my grandma and I would travel to visit her relatives in Tuapse, a city in southern Russia on the Black Sea’s coast.

We took the ‘platzkart,’ the cheapest sleeper train where strangers shared one open space with no compartments, and always brought our own bed linen because it cost us less that way. The train stopped at what felt like every small town along the way. With a border crossing, the journey stretched well past twenty-four hours.

My grandma Lilia looked forward to every summer, as the children had a holiday from school. She skimped on everything just to save up for this trip. Soon, she would see her sister, and they would spend the whole summer together, just like they used to when they were kids.

I had no idea that twenty years later, I would watch that same city burn and feel nothing but satisfaction.

Black smoke is spread across the city of Tuapse in Russia after another Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian oil refineries, the third one this week. Source: Serhii Sternenko’s Telegram channel.

Today I woke up to news that Ukrainian long-range drones had attacked Russian oil refineries in Tuapse for the third time in the past two weeks — the latest in a campaign that has shut down the plant, destroyed the majority of its storage tanks, and left Russia’s only Black Sea refinery incapacitated with no signs of recovering

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already said that Ukraine’s partners asked him to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries during the war in the Middle East. In their view, these strikes could further drive up the prices of oil and other energy resources, which have already reached record highs in recent months. The Ukrainian side, however, believes the impact on prices is limited because Russia still has restricted capacity to export its oil. So it will continue striking Russian oil, as this is one of the most effective ways to put pressure on Moscow.

At first glance, mockery and gloating over destruction deep inside Russia may seem cruel to many. But for me, it is the logical conclusion of a shattered identity — and a story about how war destroys not only homes but the very possibility of remembering anything good about the enemy.

After the paywall:

• How did Kateryna partially spend her childhood in Russia?

• Why is a Russian city on the verge of an ecological catastrophe?

• What psychological phenomenon is under Ukrainian joy and relief when Russians are suffering?

• What are the consequences of recent Ukrainian drone attacks for Moscow?