The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) announced today that their long-range strikes have disabled more than 30% of Russia's crude oil processing capacity, Ukrinform reported, quoted by BTA.
This claim, made by the AFU General Staff in a Facebook post, has not been independently verified. There has been no reaction from the Russian side so far.
The strikes affected 16 major Russian oil refineries and terminals, and more than 40 processing plants in the country have stopped working, Ukrainian authorities said - a claim that has also not been independently verified. According to the sources cited, due to international sanctions, Russia is unable to repair damaged facilities, as import substitution has proven ineffective. As a result, Russia's capacity to process and export oil is declining, they said.
In recent weeks, the Ukrainian Air Force has regularly carried out strikes, mostly with drones, on energy facilities in Russia.
Earlier this month, Russian authorities acknowledged for the first time that oil production in the country has decreased.