Ukraine releases dramatic footage of strikes on Russian oil targets

Ukraine released dramatic video showing air and drone strikes against Russian oil-refining targets, including two large refineries and an Urals oil hub, in what Kyiv described as a major effort to undercut Moscow's war economy. The footage, circulated by the Kyiv Post, appears to show missiles launched from fighter aircraft believed to be F-16s and incoming threats being destroyed as they approach, along with attacks that Kyiv said disabled some of Moscow's air-defense systems.

Officials described the targets as the Saratov and Novokuybyshevsk refineries, plus the Samara Linear Production and Dispatching Station, all part of Russia's oil sector that feeds fuel and lubricants to the Russian armed forces. The Kyiv Post reported up to seven explosions at the Saratov refinery, which processes more than seven million tons of oil annually, and at least five explosions at the Novokuybyshevsk refinery, which refines more than 8.8 million tons per year. The attacks also reportedly damaged an Urals oil production station at the site.

All the affected facilities provide the Russian Armed Forces with fuel and lubricants, the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement, adding that the attacks are intended to chip away at Moscow's military-economic potential in the oil refining sector.

Kyiv has repeatedly targeted Putin's oil refining network during the war, arguing that cutting revenue and fuel flows to the Russian military would erode its war-making capacity. The Kyiv Post's reporting on the latest footage comes after earlier Ukrainian drone strikes on the Novokuybyshevsk refinery in March 2024, underscoring a pattern of strikes against the country's oil infrastructure.

The broader impact of attacks on oil infrastructure remains difficult to quantify in the immediate term, but Kyiv frames the strikes as part of a long-running effort to undermine Russia's ability to finance and sustain the war at its source.