Kyiv’s strategy to strike the Russian oil industry is “the most efficient thing Ukraine can do” to hurt Moscow's war machine. Still, it will not break the army and will not stop Moscow’s war, Russian economist Vladislav Inozemtsev told
Euronews.
Overnight on Thursday, Ukraine struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries and petrochemical plants in the Bashkortostan Republic, 1,300 kilometres from the front line in Ukraine.
In a separate parallel attack, the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces also reported a strike against an oil refinery in Russia’s Volgograd region.
The Volgograd refinery, about 450 km from the front, plays a key role in supplying fuel to the Russian military, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said.
It is the largest producer of petroleum products in Russia’s Southern Federal District and processes 15.7 million metric tons of crude oil annually, accounting for 5.6% of the country’s total refining capacity.
Ukraine has intensified precision strikes on Russia’s oil industry over the past weeks, forcing operational suspension and even triggering a nationwide fuel shortage.
Ukrainian attacks have shut down facilities accounting for at least 17% of Russia's oil processing capacity, or 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd), according to Reuters' calculations.
Russian economist Vladislav Inozemtsev told Euronews that Kyiv’s strategy to hit the Russian oil industry is “the most efficient thing Ukraine can do” to hurt Russia’s war machine.
