Ukrainian drone strikes disabled more than 30% of actual and 45% of nominal oil refining capacity in Russia, causing the largest fuel crisis in the Russian Federation since the collapse of the USSR.
The Financial Times writes about this.
Journalists analyzed satellite imagery, layout plans of Russian refineries, photos, and thermal infrared data. This analysis showed that repairs at some large plants are proceeding slowly, and damage is not repaired for weeks or even months after the Ukrainian attacks.
Satellite images from a Moscow refinery showed the white lid of a large oil storage tank still lying shattered where it fell. Damage was also visible to three smaller tanks, a pumping station and pipes. Meanwhile, the ten largest refineries in Russia still show signs of the attacks, including those in Omsk, Moscow and Tuapse.
The FT has found that Ukraine is targeting the parts of refineries that are hardest to repair – such as the equipment that removes salt and water from crude oil before processing. One such unit was recently damaged in Omsk.
The journalists also clarified that some of the plants that Ukraine attacked in 2025 have still not resumed work to the previous level. To find out, experts analyzed nighttime light radiation near 29 large Russian refineries.
After the first strike, lighting decreased by 30% within a radius of one kilometer from the plants and by 18% within a radius of five kilometers. At the plants affected in 2025, such decreases were recorded for 13 months.
Only eight factories have fully resumed operations after the attacks. Another 11 are partially operating, and seven remain idle.
Yesterday, the FT reported that Ukraine had changed its tactics in attacking Russian oil refineries, instead of carrying out large-scale attacks, Kyiv has switched to targeted strikes on critical components. These attacks put plants out of action for longer periods of time, thereby increasing the cost of each strike for Moscow.
- In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian oil facilities. Since the beginning of 2026, Ukraine has increased attacks on Russian refineries 11 times. This has already led to a large-scale fuel crisis in Russia.
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