Ukraine targets Russian oil factories, aiming to disrupt military operations
Ukraine hit an oil depot in Russia with a drone strike on Friday, officials from both sides said. This is the latest in a series of recent attacks targeting Russian oil facilities, as Kiev increasingly seeks to target critical infrastructure behind Russian lines.
Alexander Bogomaz, governor of Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, said Oil tanks in the town of Klintsy caught fire after a drone dropped ammunition on the depot. The drone, he added, was brought down by electronic interference. A Ukrainian intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, said Ukraine was behind the attack.
Friday's attack was the fourth attack on a Russian oil facility in the past three weeks. Experts say it is an attempt by Ukraine to set back Russia's military capabilities by targeting facilities that supply fuel to tanks, fighter jets and other critical military equipment.
“Strikes on oil depots and oil storage facilities are disrupting logistics routes and delaying combat operations,” said Olena Lapenko, an energy security expert at DiXi Group, a Ukrainian think tank. “The disruption of these supplies, which are like blood to the human body, is part of a broader strategy to fight Russia on the battlefield.”
These attacks are unlikely to have a substantial impact on the overall posture of the fighting, in which Russia has gone on the offensive in recent months. But they remain important to Ukraine, which has looked for ways to wreak havoc beyond its largely gridlocked front line. Without sufficient weapons and troops to regain the initiative on the ground, Kiev has increasingly turned to guerrilla tactics to disrupt Russian operations, including sabotage activities against railway infrastructure and ammunition depots.
Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industry, said on Thursday that an “asymmetric war” is underway. He claimed responsibility for an attack Thursday targeting an oil storage facility in St. Petersburg, which he said involved a domestically produced drone that flew 1,250 kilometers, or about 775 miles.
“I am sure we will see more and more things happening this year,” Mr. Kamyshin said at a meeting panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Although the attack in St. Petersburg did not appear to cause serious damage, images from the Klintsy oil depot showed an extensive fire between several tanks. The Russian state news agency TASS said the fire covered an area of about 1,000 square meters, or about 10,700 square feet, and that four gasoline tanks were on fire.
Mr. Bogomaz, the Russian governor, said in a social media post that more than 140 firefighters were trying to extinguish the blaze. He left one video they showed how they sprayed water on blackened oil tanks from which huge plumes of black smoke rose.
Energy infrastructure has been a major theater in the war. Last winter, Russia bombarded Ukraine's energy facilities with drones and missiles, plunging Ukrainians into cold and darkness, in what Moscow saw as an attempt to weaponize winter and demoralize the population. Ukraine managed to survive the attacks thanks to Western-supplied air defense systems and engineers' round-the-clock work to repair vital equipment.
Ukraine, on a smaller scale, has targeted Russian oil and gas infrastructure since the start of the conflict. But the recent wave of attacks could indicate that energy infrastructure has now become a crucial objective for Kiev.
Two other drone strikes, on December 29 and January 9, resulted in fires at a refinery in the southwestern Krasnodar region of Russia and at one fuel factory in Oryol, a town not far from Klintsy. The Ukrainian army was involved on both occasions claimed responsibility in Ukrainian news media.
By targeting oil facilities, Ukraine is not only attempting to disrupt the supply of the Russian military, but is also targeting assets that generate substantial revenues in support of Moscow's war effort.
Ms. Lapenko, the energy security expert, said Moscow had earned more than $400 billion from oil exports since the start of the war. Russia has partly managed to circumvent international sanctions by using alternative financial services and even investing in a 'shadow fleet' to clandestinely export its oil.
“We see that the imposed sanctions do not work effectively enough, so the aggressor still receives enough money to wage war,” Ms. Lapenko said.
In addition to the attacks on oil facilities, Kyiv has carried out at least four attacks on electricity substations since September, some of which Russian local authorities say have led to power outages for civilians. The Ukrainian military claims it only attacks power plants directly linked to the Russian military campaign.
Several Ukrainian officials had said in recent months that Ukraine would respond to Moscow's attacks on critical infrastructure.
'Let them begin. They will also get an answer,” said Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence. told The Economist magazine added in September that its services were working on a limited deterrence and retaliation campaign.
Daria Mitiuk reporting contributed.