NATO Officials Say Ukrainian Attack Disrupts 15 Percent Of Russian Oil Refinery Capacity

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

JAKARTA - Ukraine's attack on Russian refineries may have disrupted more than 15 percent of the country's capacity, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) official said, adding his alliance believed Moscow was still short of power and ammunition to launch successful attacks.

Russia and Ukraine both use drones to attack critical infrastructure, military installations and concentrations of troops in the war that has lasted more than two years.

Kyiv has also attacked Russian refineries and energy facilities in recent months with several attacks reaching a distance of 1,000 km (620 miles) into Russian territory.

"In terms of damage, the attack may have disrupted more than 10 percent of Russia's refinery capacity, perhaps more than 15 percent. Depending on the extent of the damage, repairs could take a long time," the official told reporters.

"The less Russian energy, the more important infrastructure is safe from potential attacks," the official said.

According to a Reuters tally, about 14 percent of Russia's distillation capacity has been closed due to drone strikes.

Separately, the damaged Russian refineries will return to normal operations in early June, Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Regarding Russian personnel and ammunition, the NATO official said Moscow recruited around 30,000 people each month to bear heavy losses. However, although Russia has a significant advantage over Ukraine in terms of ammunition, labor and equipment, it is unlikely to achieve major breakthroughs in the near future.

"They will most likely not be able to carry out significant offensive operations without other large-scale mobilization," the official said, adding Moscow also had to overcome its own lack of ammunition.