Ukrainian Drone Claimed to Have Successfully Attacked 12 Russian Oil Refineries

Ukrainian drone forces on the battlefield. (Twitter/@ZelenskyyUa)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian long-range attack drones launched by the domestic security service, SBU, have successfully hit 12 Russian oil refineries during the war so far, a Ukrainian intelligence source said on Sunday.

Officials in Russia's southern Krasnodar region said Ukrainian drones had struck the Slavyansk oil refinery, 70 km (45 miles) north of the region's capital.

Ukrainian sources said the refinery, which processes about 4.5 million metric tons of crude oil a year and produces fuel mainly for export, had been attacked in an operation carried out by the SBU security service and other Ukrainian forces.

"The agency continues to implement strategies to weaken Russia's economic potential and reduce the flow of petro dollars that enemies use for war," said the source, reported by Reuters, March 17.

"In total, SBU drones have recently succeeded in attacking 12 oil refineries in Russia," he said.

The figure does not include operations carried out by Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency, which also attacked the refinery with drones, a second intelligence source said.

Ukraine has developed and used long-range drones to try to strike back against Russia, which began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has carried out long-range airstrikes with missiles and drones throughout the war.

It is known that Russia accused Ukraine of using "terrorist activities" to try to disrupt the three-day presidential election.

Russian official media reported drones have attacked refineries in many regions in recent weeks, including Rosneft's refineries.

Oil and petroleum products are an important source of income for Russia, which exports them to many countries around the world.