Ukrainian Drones Blow Up 5 Russian Oil Pipelines, Refineries & Depots – Forbes

Fanning out across western and southern Russia and Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine last night, Ukrainian drones struck no fewer than five Russian oil facilities, the Ukrainian general staff in Kyiv reported.

It was one of the most ambitious and potentially damaging set of raids in Ukraine’s 18-month—and counting—campaign of deep strikes targeting Russia’s most important industry. “A productive night,” Estonian analyst WarTranslated noted.

According to the general staff, drones struck:

• the Kuybyshev-Lysychansk oil pipeline in Chertkovo, in Russia’s Rostov Oblast 80 miles from the front line in Ukraine;
• the gas pipeline in the area of Sokhranovka, also in Rostov but 100 miles from the front;
• the oil refinery in Novoshakhtinsk, in Rostov 120 miles from the front;
• the oil refinery in Syzran, in Samara Oblast 500 miles from the front;
• and the fuel storage facility in Rovenky, in Ukraine’s Luhansk Oblast 100 miles from the fighting.

Russian sources have confirmed at least two of the raids. “Detailed information regarding the consequences of the damage to the facilities is currently being clarified,” the general staff in Kyiv reported.

Mounting damage

The Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces, Kyiv’s independent drone branch, assessed the long-term damage in Syzran from repeated strikes. According to the USF, the Syzran refinery should be able to process 8.9 million tons of oil a year. “However, due to regular strikes, the refinery’s actual oil processing volume in 2024 was significantly lower—around 4.3 million tons,” the branch stated.

The one-night, five-target raids occurred one day after a drone attack burned the Ufimsky oil refinery in the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan, a startling 1,000 miles from the border with Ukraine.

And they came eight days after Ukrainian drones struck the Ryazan oil refinery in Ryazan Oblast, 300 miles from Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies, that attack scorched the refinery’s primary oil procession unit.

The Ryazan refinery is responsible for as much as 5% of Russian petroleum product production. It’s one of the bigger oil targets Ukrainian drones and missiles have hit since September 2023.

Earlier in February, Ukrainian drones flew a distance of at least 450 miles to strike the Rosneft oil refinery in Saratov, which refines 2% of Russia’s oil. And in late January, drones hit the Nizhny Novgorod oil refinery in Kstovo, in central Russia 520 miles from the front line in Ukraine. This site handles 5% of Russian refining.

The damage can be repaired, of course. But the increasingly frequent and damaging Ukrainian drone raids, combined with foreign sanctions, is weighing on Russian oil exports. Less frequent and destructive attacks depressed Russian oil product exports by 10% last year, according to a Reuters analysis. The effects from this year’s attacks could be greater.