Ukrainian forces have intensified their campaign of long-range strikes against Russian oil infrastructure in the past two weeks, focusing on key sites in the Baltic region and Leningrad region, essential for Russian oil exports, News.bg reports.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, the Ukrainian General Staff reported on April 5 that on the night of April 5, a strike was carried out on the main oil export port of Primorsk, which caused a fire.
This is the third attack on the facility in two weeks, following previous strikes in late March.
Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko confirmed the drone strike and reported damage to a section of an oil pipeline in region.
Ukrainian forces also attacked the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery in Kstovo, causing fires. Geolocated video footage shows Russian air defense systems being activated in the area.
Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region Gleb Nikitin also confirmed damage to industrial sites, including refinery facilities and a combined heat and power plant.
According to analysis, Russian military bloggers are reacting cautiously, acknowledging that the attacks are damaging the country's export capacity and will require time and significant resources to recover.
The limitations of Russian air defenses, as well as the difficulty of protecting vast infrastructure thousands of kilometers away, have hampered Moscow's efforts to prevent such strikes.
The attacks since the beginning of the campaign have covered a wide geographical scope – from ports such as Primorsk and Ust-Luga to refineries in Kstovo, Kirishi, Yaroslavl and Ufa, as well as defense enterprises in the Samara region.
The hit sites extend over a distance of over 1,700 kilometers, which further complicates their defense by Russian forces.
At the same time, Ukrainian counterattacks in the directions towards Gulyaypole and Aleksandrovka continue to hamper Russian operations in the direction of Pokrovsk and affect the spring-summer offensive.
Military analyst Konstantin Mashovets reports that these actions have forced Russian forces to redirect units, including marine units, to the affected areas.