Ukraine burned Russia Saturday with drone strikes hundreds of miles into Russian territory that set oil refineries ablaze.
“What our own drones can do is truly a long-range Ukrainian capability,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address Saturday, according to Reuters.
He said Ukraine’s armed forces, security service and main intelligence directorate are responsible “for the new Ukrainian long-range capabilities” he said would poke at vulnerable places in the “Russian war machine.”
Get ready to update your Russian oil refiners Bingo card! Syzran refinery, located 1000 km deep inside Russia, is currently offline. pic.twitter.com/fAtjga9xF0
— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) March 16, 2024
Attacks in Ryazan, Kstovo and Kirishi about 600 miles from the border with Ukraine, were the second in two days to hit oil refineries, according to the Financial Times.
The facilities hit Saturday make up about 10 percent of Russia’s oil processing capacity.
Ukraine was “systematically implementing a detailed strategy … to deprive the enemy of resources and reduce the flow of oil money and fuel,” a Ukrainian official said.
Will the conflict in Ukraine soon expand?
Russia has long targeted civilians in Ukraine with long-range missiles. Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine “will inflict losses on the Russian state in response — quite rightly.”
“Those in the Kremlin must get used to the fact that terror does not go unpunished for them,” he said.
BREAKING:
Multiple Ukrainian drones strike the Syzran oil refinery in Russia, nearly 1000 km away from Ukraine.
The refinery is going up in flames
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 16, 2024
Saturday’s attacks followed others on Tuesday and Wednesday that targeted other oil facilities, Reuters reported.
“Surprisingly, Russia cannot counter such a relatively simple weapon as drones,” Sergey Vakulenko, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said, according to the Financial Times.
“Since the first wave of attacks, it was clear that Ukraine identified refineries as targets — but [Russia] did not attempt or were unable to prepare for the second one,” he said.
War in Ukraine 🇺🇦 The moment when the Ukrainian drone hit a Russian oil refinery in Ryazan #Ukraina #Russia #UkraineWar pic.twitter.com/kpuYtgXOYS
— Skënderbeü_ (@AncientAlien01) March 13, 2024
In its reporting on the refinery attacks, Bloomberg framed it that “Ukrainian drones have struck at the very heart of the industry,” while noting that the attacks are creeping closer to Moscow.
The attacks have upped the price of gasoline and diesel in Russia.
Bloomberg also noted that some oil produced goes to the international market, running the risk that attacks against Russia could have collateral damage by causing fuel price increases outside of Russia.
