Ukrainian strikes plunge Russian oil production to 12-month low
Photo: Oil production in Russia has fallen due to attacks by Ukrainian drones (Getty Images)
Crude oil production in Russia fell in May to its lowest level in a year amid record Ukrainian drone attacks on oil infrastructure, Bloomberg reports.
May figures
According to the monthly OPEC report, Russian producers extracted an average of 9.009 million barrels of crude oil per day in May. This is lower than the April figure.
The May production level is 690,000 barrels per day below the quota set for Russia under its agreement with OPEC and its allies. The data does not include gas condensate production.
Russian crude oil output has been declining since late 2025. While the latest drop shows a slowdown in the trend compared to previous months, it increases pressure on oil markets, where prices remain high due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Record month of strikes on Russian oil infrastructure
In May, Ukraine significantly intensified attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure, carrying out at least 31 strikes on:
- oil refineries
- maritime export terminals
- pipeline infrastructure
This is the highest monthly figure since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Kyiv aims to restrict Moscow’s revenues from high global oil prices.
Refining at a 20-year low
Since Ukrainian forces have primarily targeted fuel production facilities, Russia’s crude oil refining rates fell in June to their lowest level in two decades, according to estimates by EA Analytics, part of the Energy Aspects Ltd consulting group.
As a result, Russian producers have redirected crude oil toward export markets.
According to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, average four-week seaborne oil shipments rose to 3.64 million barrels per day in the period up to May 31.
In comparison, in the four weeks to April 17, before Kyiv began targeting export facilities, the average was 3.17 million barrels per day.
Russia remains one of the world’s top three crude oil producers, and its shipments do not pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the start of the war with Iran.
As previously reported by Reuters, Ukraine has already destroyed about a quarter of Russia’s oil refineries. The combined capacity of facilities that have fully or partially shut down exceeds 83 million tons per year.
The affected plants accounted for more than 30% of Russia’s gasoline production and about 25% of its diesel output.
According to Reuters, in April alone, the refineries affected by the attacks produced 1 million tons less diesel than usual.
