Ukrainian drones caused $7bn damage to Russian oil industry

Ukrainian drone attacks have caused billions in damages to Russia’s oil industry so far this year, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.

Citing “the most conservative estimates,” the Ukrainian leader said that “the aggressor state has lost at least $7 billion solely as a direct result of our precise sanctions against Russia’s oil industry and refining sector – due to direct hits, downtime, and delays in shipments.”

Ukraine’s drone attacks targeting the Russian oil industry reached a new high in April, including in terms of “range and intensity,” Zelensky wrote on X.

This in turn has helped to significantly curtail Russia’s oil revenues, a major driver for the war in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian leader.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago, repeatedly targeting the Ukrainian hinterland with missiles and drones, which has led to a high civilian death toll and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.

Ukraine has responded by launching its own drone attacks against Russian territory, specifically targeting oil facilities that allow Moscow to continue funding the war.

Earlier on Friday, Russian authorities reported fresh attacks targeting an oil terminal in the Black Sea port of Tuapse – the fourth Ukrainian attack on the oil facilities within the last two weeks. The strikes caused a fire to break out at the site, but did not cause any deaths or injuries, state news agency TASS reported.