 At least half of production at Russian oil refinery halted after Ukrainian drone attacks. The work of at least half of the production of the Lukhoj-Nizny-Yorod-Nafthog-Zintes oil refinery in the city of Kstov-O was stopped due to a drone attack. The reason was the failure of the AVT-6 crude oil processing plant according to writers. As previously reported a drone attacked Lukhoj-Nizny-Yorod-Nafthog-Zintes which is in the city of Kstov-O-Nizny Novgorod oblast on March the 12th. Anonymous Russian sources in the industry told the newspaper that as a result of the attack the main oil processing facility AVT-6 at Lukhoj-Nizny-Yorod-Nafthog-Zintes was damaged. According to them this means stopping at least half of the production at the plant. According to industry sources Lukhoj-Nizny-Yorod-Nafthog-Zintes processed about 15.8 million tons of Russian oil per year or 5.8% of the total volume of oil processed. The defense intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is behind this according to sources in the armed forces of Ukraine. According to sources the attack on the refinery in the city of Kstov-O the Nizny Novgorod region was organized by military intelligence. Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries are becoming more and more systematic. So recently a drone attack one of the largest oil refineries in Yaroslavl. RBC Ukraine sources also reported that the security service of Ukraine drones hit the oil refinery in Tvapsae causing a massive fire. In addition Ukrainian drones successfully worked on the Ust-Luga oil oil terminal. Fuel is processed there which in particular is supplied to the Russian army. Ukraine and Russia have often used drones to strike critical infrastructure, military installations and troop concentrations in their more than two year war. Kyiv has concentrated fire on Russian refineries and energy facilities in recent months. US unprepared for nuclear response to possible Russian strike on Ukraine. The US was preparing a response in case Russia used nuclear weapons against Ukraine. However this response would have been non-nuclear according to the New York Times. As noted by the media the peak of concern regarding a possible nuclear attack by Russia came in October 2022. At that time Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia could use nukes against Ukraine. According to the New York Times during several weeks in October 2022 the White House was engulfed in crisis. The administration of US President Joe Biden feared that Moscow might use tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield. According to the sources cited by the publication the White House's concern was so great the task forces were convened to determine what the US response might be. Biden's team believed that the response should be non-nuclear but according to representatives of the US President's administration the reaction should be dramatic, possibly a conventional attack on units that had launched nuclear weapons. In the White House it was believed that the use of nuclear weapons in response could encourage Putin and other authoritarian states to use their nuclear arsenal. It is worth noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened Ukraine and Western countries with nuclear weapons. In addition Russia has moved its nuclear weapons to Belarus. However the President Alexander Lukashenko cannot use them independently. As reported by the American news outlet CNN the US was preparing for a nuclear strike by Russia on Ukraine by the end of 2022. Washington relied on some intelligence information. We had to plan so that we were in the best possible position in case this no longer unthinkable event actually took place. A senior US administration official told CNN According to another US official from late summer to fall of 2022 the US National Security Council convened a series of meetings to develop contingency plans including for either very clear signs of a nuclear strike in the making or an actual strike. How we would respond, how we would try to preempt it or deter it the official explained. The United States believed that the loss of Kersen could provoke Russia to a nuclear strike on Ukraine. As Moscow could see it as an existential threat the unnamed American official said a nuclear strike could also be seen by the Kremlin as a tool to deter Ukraine from further liberation of territories or a potential attack on Russia. Russia produces three times more shells than US and Europe for Ukraine war. Russia produces almost three times as much artillery ammunition as the United States and Europe combined according to Western intelligence estimates. CNN and representatives of Western intelligence agencies reported this. According to NATO intelligence estimates regarding Russian defense production the Russian Federation is capable of producing about 250,000 artillery shells per month or about 3 million per year. Together the United States and Europe can only produce about 1.2 million rounds of ammunition a year to be sent to Ukraine a European intelligence official told the TV channel. Officials say that Russia is now firing 10,000 shells a day while Ukraine can only manage 2,000. Representatives of European intelligence report that the ratio is even worse in some parts of the contact line. The number one issue that we're watching right now is the munitions because that's where Russia really is mounting a significant production advantage and mounting a significant advantage on the battlefield. The NATO representative added the source of the TV channel says artillery factories in the Russian Federation are working around the clock. In addition Russia imports ammunition from Iran and North Korea. According to Western estimates Iran sent at least 300,000 artillery shells last year probably more than that and North Korea provided at least 6,700 ammunition containers that contained millions of shells. Russia put everything they have in the game. An intelligence official said their war machine works in full gear. The source added at the same time according to US and Western officials the buildup of Russian weapons is still insufficient to meet its needs. In addition Western intelligence agencies do not expect Russia to make significant progress on the battlefield in the short term. Officials say there is a limit to Russian production capacity adding that Russian plants are likely to hit peak production sometime next year.