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Ukraine’s Long-Range Strikes Cost Russia $7 Billion in Oil Revenues Since January
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Drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and infrastructure have cost Russia at least $7 billion since the beginning of the year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on May 1.
Summarizing the results of operations conducted throughout April, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s “long-range sanctions” reached a new level across three key components: reducing Russian oil profits, increasing the distance of the strikes, and raising the overall intensity of the attacks.
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The president emphasized that these strikes are designed to maximize facility downtime and cause severe operational delays. According to Zelenskyy’s conservative estimates, hits, prolonged downtime, and delayed shipments have drained at least $7 billion directly from the Russian oil and refining industry since January.
Zelenskyy credited the coordinated efforts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and national intelligence agencies for delivering these results.
Looking ahead, the president confirmed that Kyiv intends to expand these operations. “We will scale up the direction of our long-range systems,” Zelenskyy said, noting that specific decisions to facilitate this expansion are currently being prepared.
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Zelenskyy’s remarks align with a recent report confirming that Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil infrastructure reached a four-month peak in April. At least 21 attacks targeted Russian refineries, export terminals, and deep-inland pipeline networks, pushing processing volumes to a multi-year low. It was estimated that these operations reduced Russia’s average refinery output to 4.69 million barrels per day—the lowest production level recorded since December 2009.
The financial and operational success of the campaign is largely attributed to Ukraine resuming a late-2025 strategy of conducting repeated strikes on the exact same facilities, such as the Tuapse refinery on the Black Sea coast, to maximize physical damage and deliberately complicate repair efforts.
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