KYIV, July 13 — Against this backdrop of a grinding war of attrition, Ukraine has steadily transformed drone warfare from a tactical novelty into a strategic instrument, striking deep into Russian territory to disrupt the fuel supplies that power Moscow’s military machine. Since the full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022, Kyiv has increasingly turned its domestically produced unmanned aerial vehicles against Russian oil depots, refineries, and fuel storage sites.
The campaign is not a single dramatic blow, but a sustained series of hits designed to bleed the Russian war effort over time. What is at stake is nothing less than the logistical backbone of the Kremlin’s offensive operations: the diesel, petrol, and aviation fuel that moves tanks, fuels jets, and supplies front-line troops.
A Campaign of Distance and Precision
The geography of these strikes tells the story of Ukraine’s growing reach. On January 25, 2024, a drone hit the Tuapse refinery in Krasnodar Krai, a key facility on the Black Sea coast. Less than two months later, on March 13, 2024, the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Rostov Oblast was targeted.
Then, on April 2, 2024, a drone attack struck a refinery in Tatarstan — more than 1,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, deep inside what Russia had considered safe rear territory. These are not isolated incidents.
As of April 2025, Ukrainian and Russian sources had reported over 20 such strikes. The weaponry enabling this campaign includes Ukraine’s own UJ-22 drone and the longer-range ‘Liutyi’ model, both capable of reaching targets up to 1,000 kilometers away. The message is clear: no Russian fuel facility is beyond reach.
The economic logic is as sharp as the military one. By hitting refineries and storage sites, Ukraine aims to reduce Russia’s export revenue from petroleum products, starving the war budget of hard currency.
In the corridors of power in Kyiv, this is understood as a dual-pressure strategy: degrade the enemy’s ability to fight today while constraining his ability to rebuild tomorrow.
Russia’s Defensive Dilemma
Moscow has not been passive. The campaign has forced Russia to deploy additional air defenses and electronic warfare systems to protect its energy infrastructure. Yet for all the investment in radar-guided anti-aircraft systems and jamming equipment, the attacks have not stopped.
The sheer volume of drone sorties, combined with the low-altitude, unpredictable flight paths of these small aircraft, presents a persistent challenge to even the most layered defensive network. The wider picture is one of a slow, grinding erosion of Russian strategic depth.
Each successful strike forces Moscow to divert resources from front-line combat to rear-area protection. Each damaged refinery takes months to repair, reducing fuel availability for the next offensive. In the corridors of the Kremlin, this is a problem that defies a quick fix.
Looking ahead, the trajectory is clear. Ukraine’s drone production capacity is likely to grow, and the range of its systems may extend further.
For Russia, the choice is between pouring ever more resources into defending a vast energy network or accepting the cumulative damage to its war-fighting capacity. Neither option offers comfort.
