The editorial staff of Forbes draws attention to the fact that the campaign of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil and gas infrastructure not only deprives the aggressor country of the main source of financing for its aggression, but also pushes society towards a revolution, the scale of which may resemble the February Revolution of 1917.
Points of attention
- Putin's reliance on restoring the empire should be tempered by the lessons from Tsar Nicholas II's reign, where domestic deficits and unrest posed as much threat as external enemies.
- The vulnerability of Russian infrastructure to Ukrainian drone attacks highlights a strategic advantage that Western sanctions have not been able to exploit effectively.
Ukraine has the power to destabilize Russia
As journalists note, Ukraine has decided to strike powerful blows at the enemy's most vulnerable point at the end of 2023.
However, then the team of former US President Joe Biden thwarted this strategy, fearing a rise in world oil prices.
In the summer of 2025, Ukraine launched a new campaign of strikes on Russian refineries and pipelines. This time, when Washington no longer objects to such strikes, the campaign has yielded significant results: according to various estimates, Russia has lost between 17% and 20% of its oil refining capacity.
The Kremlin cannot ignore the fact that this has provoked a significant fuel shortage and rising fuel prices on the Russian domestic market.
Another significant plus is that ordinary Russians are increasingly feeling the consequences of the war against Ukraine.
Against this background, the Forbes editorial board concluded that Ukrainian drone attacks on enemy refineries are having the effect that Western sanctions could not.
Former advisor to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Serhiy Kuzan, commented on this matter:
Moscow has found ways to adapt to Western sanctions, but so far it has no reliable protection against Ukrainian drones.
According to journalists, Russian propaganda cannot ignore the queues at gas stations in many regions of the aggressor country.
Moreover, the economic situation in Russia is also deteriorating sharply against the backdrop of the war against Ukraine.
Putin often positions himself as the heir to the tsars, restoring the empire. But he should remember Tsar Nicholas II during World War I, when overstretched fronts and domestic deficits made unrest at home as dangerous as an enemy abroad.
