Ukraine targets Russian oil refineries at record pace — FT
Strikes on Russian oil refineries have triggered a major fuel market crisis (photo: defence-ua.com)
Ukrainian drones are striking the energy infrastructure of the Russian Federation at an unprecedented pace, triggering a widespread gasoline shortage, the Financial Times reports.
Fuel crisis scale
According to the outlet, Kyiv's intensified air campaign has caused the most severe fuel shortages in decades in Russia. More than half of the country's regions have been forced to impose strict restrictions on fuel sales, while residents are spending hours waiting in line at gas stations.
In June, the only oil refinery in Moscow was struck several times, sparking major fires and worsening gasoline shortages in the Russian capital.
Record number of strikes
The pace of attacks on Russia's strategic infrastructure has increased significantly since the beginning of 2026:
- Sixteen successful strikes on oil refineries were recorded in May alone, setting a monthly record
- Russian oil refineries have been hit at least 194 times since the start of the year—11 times more than during the same period last year.
The air campaign is placing critical pressure on Russia's air defense network.
According to experts, it has evolved into a broader strategic operation.
Konrad Muzyka, director of the analytical group Rochan Consulting, says the campaign has evolved from a relatively narrow effort targeting oil infrastructure into a broader strategic interdiction campaign aimed at simultaneously degrading Russian energy, logistics, industrial, and export systems.
Analysts attribute the effectiveness of the campaign to Ukraine's technological breakthrough in mass-producing long-range drones, improved command and control, and US intelligence support that helps Ukrainian drones bypass Russian air defenses.
The strikes have also shattered the Kremlin narrative that the war has little impact on ordinary Russians.
Ruslan Pukhov, director of Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said that Putin made another fatal strategic mistake in this war by somehow believing that time was only on his side, as he failed to force Ukraine to surrender, but he gave it enough time to develop mass production of deep-strike capabilities.
Kremlin's plans, battlefield situation
Despite mounting problems on the home front, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no willingness to negotiate.
According to sources of the outlet, Moscow continues to demand major concessions from Kyiv through US mediation, and meaningful talks are unlikely to resume before February next year.
Moreover, Putin has ordered Russian forces to seize the entire Donetsk region of Ukraine by the end of this year.
Ground offensive by Russia has been accompanied by an escalation in aerial attacks, with the combined number of missiles and drones launched at Ukraine exceeding 5,000 per month since February.
Russian oil refineries context
Notable that Ukraine has been systematically disabling Russia's largest oil refining facilities. As of late June 2026, Ukrainian drones had successfully struck eight of Russia's ten largest oil refineries, significantly reducing the overall refining capacity of the country.
The latest phase of this campaign came during the night of July 2, when Ukrainian forces struck the Lukoil refinery in the city of Kstovo in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia. The successful attack sparked a major fire at the facility.
The refinery is considered highly important to Russia, as the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez plant has remained one of the main fuel suppliers to Moscow.
Experts and media outlets say Ukraine is effectively knocking out the last two refineries that continued supplying fuel to Moscow and the surrounding region, gradually cutting off Russia's capital from its energy supply.
