Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the West has imposed a series of sanctions against Russia. However, this is still not enough to dry up Putin’s regime’s resources for the war machine and force it to stop the war.
The Kremlin will still have money for the war, even at the cost of lowering the living standards of Russian citizens. For example, Russians replace Western imports from the West with Indian or Chinese goods. It is cheaper, but of lower quality.
At the same time, Moscow purchases Western technologies, including those used in weapon manufacturing, through sham companies and third countries friendly to the Kremlin.
Hitting Russia’s oil refining industry is the key – Ukrainian expert
In an interview with Channel 24, Ukrainian political scientist Taras Zagorodny said that the key to crushing the Russian economy lies in the oil refining industry. According to him, the Russians have problems with replacing equipment because it is produced only in the West, and therefore China and India will not help them.
Ukraine has already turned to tactics to destroy the Russian oil industry. Drones of the Security Service of Ukraine systematically fly to oil refineries and ports. In particular, the ports of Novorossiysk account for approximately 30% of oil and grain exports, and the ports of the Baltic Sea account for another 30%.
The destruction of this infrastructure is very painful for the Russians, as the invaders can import weapons and parts for them, as they are small and can be found on the open market, but this is not possible with oil equipment. In addition to the fact that this equipment is large and it will be clear to everyone where it will go, it must also be assembled by Western specialists.
Therefore, the expert believes that Ukraine’s priority task is to destroy the Russian oil industry, or at least reduce the aggressor state’s capacity several times. After all, you can’t fight without diesel, and without aviation kerosene, there is no export, which will create big problems for Russia.
In his opinion, the destruction of warehouses and oil refineries is the way to victory because it will significantly undermine Russia, and there will be a breaking point because there will be fewer and fewer resources.
Attacks on Russian refineries and military plants
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have already conducted a number of operations to strike at Russia’s oil facilities on its territory. For this purpose, Ukrainians use long-range drones.
This year, Ukraine has carried out a series of successful attacks on Russian oil depots and defense plants. In particular, on the night of February 15, two Ukrainian military intelligence drones hit the Polevaya oil depot in the Kursk region of Russia. The Russians used it for the needs of the invading troops.
Also on February 15, a powerful explosion occurred at the Altai defense plant in Biisk, which produces ammunition, solid fuel charges for rocket engines, and explosives for industrial purposes. The company is known to be on the sanctions lists of the EU, the US, Ukraine, and Japan.
The media speculated that the damage from these strikes alone to the Putin regime’s military capabilities was no less than that caused by a series of international economic sanctions.
For more strikes, Ukraine would only need more long-range drones, as well as more long-range missiles, to hit Russian military targets and draw its air defense systems away from other targets.
