Kyiv targets Russia’s energy lifeline, aiming to weaken Putin’s war machine and reduce oil revenues.
Ukraine has intensified its long-range drone campaign against Russia’s oil infrastructure, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirming attacks on refining and export assets deep inside Russian territory.
Zelenskyy said he received a report from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on the use of long-range drones against Russian oil refining and export facilities. According to him, Ukrainian forces operated overnight against targets linked to the Yaroslavl oil refinery, located about 700 kilometers from Ukrainian territory.
“We are bringing the war back home – to Russia – and that’s only fair,” Zelenskyy said.
The Yaroslavl refinery, co-owned by Gazprom Neft, has now reportedly been targeted four times in one month as Ukraine works to weaken Russia’s refining capacity and disrupt export revenues that help finance Moscow’s war.
Satellite data reportedly showed a heat anomaly at the refinery, suggesting a possible fire at the site. The Yaroslavl strike came shortly after Ukrainian drones hit the Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region, operated by Rosneft.
Zelenskyy also posted footage showing fire and smoke at a facility, describing the strike as another Ukrainian long-range sanction against Russian oil refining. He said Ukraine would continue this line of action.
Kyiv’s strategy is clear: hit Russia’s energy lifeline, reduce oil income and force Moscow to feel the cost of its invasion. As global oil prices rise, Ukraine is targeting the infrastructure that keeps Putin’s war economy running.
