One of the less reported successes in Ukraine's war to expel Russia's criminal invasion are the attacks on Russia's oil industry, a key source of revenue for the Putin regime. Using long-range drones, the Ukrainians are successfully striking oil depots well inside Russia, causing a significant drop in their refinery activities (impacting crude oil prices worldwide, to the chagrin of the Biden administration). From Business Insider:
"Ukraine launched a new wave of long-range drone strikes on oil depots in Russia this week as part of a campaign targeting the Kremlin's critical infrastructure.
Drones sent by Ukraine's security service hit two Rosneft-owned oil depots in Russia's Smolensk region on Wednesday, multiple outlets reported, citing a Ukrainian intelligence source.
A source in the Ukrainian defense sector told Agence France-Presse that the depots stored 26,000 cubic meters of fuel.
Metallurgical and pharmaceutical plants in Lipetsk in southwest Russia have also been attacked, reports say.
'These facilities are — and will remain — absolutely legitimate targets,' the source told AFP.
The attacks are part of an intensifying Ukrainian campaign to strike energy infrastructure targets deep within Russia's borders.
Ukraine has managed to strike not just oil depots in western Russia, near Ukraine's border, but also in northern Russia hundreds of miles away." (our emphasis)
Russia has been vicious in attacking Ukrainian power plants, along with civilian targets like apartment buildings, and public facilities. Ukraine limited its targets to Russian airfields and military installations, and oil facilities. With the receipt of long-range ATACMS artillery from the U.S., they should be able to strike such Russian targets as the Kerch Bridge linking Russia with occupied Crimea, thus adding another blow to Russia's war effort.
(photo: Firefighters extinguish oil tanks at a storage facility from a Ukrainian drone attack, in the Bryansk Region, Russia January 19, 2024. Reuters)
