Satellite images obtained by The i Paper reveal the extent of the destruction inflicted by Ukraine’s escalating drone campaign on Russia’s oil infrastructure.
As the war enters its third year, Ukraine has shifted tactics — moving beyond the front lines to strike deep into Russian territory, targeting the fuel lifeline that powers Moscow’s war effort.
While both Kyiv and Moscow have stepped up drone attacks in recent months, Ukraine is growing frustrated with Western powers’ hesitation at targeting Moscow’s energy revenues.
What began in January 2024 as a limited series of long-range drone strikes has since escalated into a full-scale campaign against Russian oil refineries and depots.
The first major strike hit Klintsy, a town in Russia’s Bryansk region, where four oil tanks at a vast storage facility erupted in flames after a Ukrainian drone attack. Satellite images now reveal the full devastation – eight oil tanks engulfed in thick black smoke.
This attack set the stage for a broader Ukrainian strategy: crippling Russia’s energy supply to disrupt its military machine. The campaign has since spread across Russian territory, with satellite imagery showing oil refineries in at least seven locations suffering significant damage.
Ukraine has launched more than 80 strikes on Russian oil facilities, according to The i Paper’s analysis. While initial attacks had limited impact, the recent surge is now disrupting Russian fuel exports – depriving the Kremlin of critical revenue for its war effort, Ukrainian officials claim.
One of the most severe hits came on 15 January, when Ukrainian drones struck a Rosneft oil base near Liski, in Russia’s Voronezh region. Satellite images show six oil tanks were destroyed, with production halved — cutting diesel output by 10,000 tonnes per day.
Days earlier, a fire at a refinery in the city of Engels raged for five days, forcing authorities to declare a state of emergency.
In Russia’s Rostov region, an oil depot burned for several days after being hit by Ukrainian drones on 23 August, with up to 20 diesel fuel tanks — each holding 5,000 cubic metres – going up in flames.
Ukrainian forces have also struck the Syzran oil refinery and the Ilsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, triggering large-scale fires. In a further blow to Russia’s military logistics, Ukraine has rendered the Kropotkinskaya and Andriapol oil pumping stations inoperable, which significantly complicated fuel supplies to Russian forces.
While Ukraine intensifies its strikes, the once united Western response is fracturing. In Europe, Britain and its allies are moving closer to direct involvement.
Plans are being discussed for a European “reassurance force” in Ukraine, with up to 30,000 British and EU troops deployed to strategic sites, away from the front lines.
The UK government has already imposed sanctions on 20 Russian oil tankers, a move expected to slash Russia’s crude exports by over four million barrels.
But the United States is drifting in the opposite direction. President Donald Trump has positioned himself as a potential ally to Moscow, openly calling Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” and suggesting that Ukraine should surrender territory to Russia.
Trump has also proposed relaxing sanctions on Russia, which experts say undermines Ukraine’s oil strikes by easing financial pressure on Putin’s war economy.
Russian seaborne oil product exports fell by almost 10 per cent in 2024 after Ukraine’s drone attacks and as a result of Western sanctions, Reuters reported last month.
The refineries also came under pressure due to falling fuel prices, rising interest rates and Russia’s ban on fuel exports – implemented to sure up domestic supply.
On Wednesday last week, Kyiv continued its attacks on the Syzran oil refinery, while last Monday the defence forces of Ukraine conducted a precision strike on strategic military and fuel-energy infrastructure facilities of the Russian federation.
Additionally, the Kropotkinskaya and Andriapol oil pumping stations, which played a key role in transporting fuel for the occupying forces, were also targeted. Following the strike, they have been rendered inoperative, significantly complicating fuel logistics for the Russia.
While Ukraine faces setbacks on the battlefield, its campaign against Russia’s energy sector continues.
With divisions emerging among Western powers, questions hang over whether Putin will be forced to yield, or if a fractured international response will hand him a lifeline.
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