According to a military expert, reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Petro Chernyk, Ukrainian UAV attacks on oil refineries in Russia may affect the occupation army's military operations in Ukraine.
How attacks on Russian refineries affect the situation at the front
I would not say that they are without petrol, they have 30 large refineries and about 50 small ones. We need something similar to what happened in World War II, when the Americans destroyed 12 German refineries. As of today, we have affected up to 15% of their oil refining industry. For something to really start burning there, this ratio needs to be raised to 30-50%,’ the analyst explains.
Chernyk emphasised that attacks by Ukrainian drones on Russian refineries create three problems for the Kremlin at once.
As an example, a T-90 consumes up to 1 tonne of diesel fuel and 100 kilograms of oil per day. There are about 3,000 tanks in the occupation zone, which is 3,000 tonnes per day, not including cars, generators, and other types of equipment. If all this were to continue, it could come to the point where there would simply be no fuel. In addition, it will become more expensive for the population, which is pressure. And the most important thing is the revision of their air defence system. They have promoted their systems to the world, but they are not ready to shoot down small UAVs. This is a blow to their image as a global arms manufacturer,’ the expert notes.
According to him, a large number of Ukrainian UAVs are capable of hitting strategic targets on the territory of the aggressor country.
If 30% of them hit, it's a fantastic result, but it never happens that all 100% of them hit. Something deviates, something goes down. We make fun of the grills they used to weld to a tank and now manufacture at a refinery. But when a light drone gets stuck in it and the explosives don't work, we can't talk about a high success rate. But we are learning, and the most important thing is that we have found this pain point of the Russian Federation,’ the expert stressed.
What is known about the results of the latest drone attacks by the DIU and the SSU on Russian refineries
According to journalists of the RBC-Ukraine media outlet, citing representatives of the special services, the drone attack on the refinery in the Ryazan region was carried out by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU).
According to eyewitnesses, the attack happened around 3 am. A rumble was reportedly heard, followed by several explosions.
Emergency services are currently working at the refinery. According to preliminary reports, there were no victims. There is no official confirmation yet,’ Russian Telegram channels say.
