Ukraine's Drones Slash Russia's Oil Refining by 17% — Largest Impact to Date

An extensive review of Ukraine's deep-strike drone operations targeting Russian oil facilities indicates that assaults on refineries have led to a reduction of around 17 percent in Russia's overall refining capability — amounting to 1.1 million barrels per day, as estimated by Reuters. Among the affected sites are the Ilsky refinery in Krasnodar, the Kstovo Lukoil refinery which provides 30 percent of the gasoline for the Moscow area, the Yaroslavl refinery located near Moscow, the Syzran refinery acknowledged by Zelenskyy, and the Saratov refinery hit overnight on May 31. In March 2026 alone, Ukraine deployed over 7,000 long-range drone systems — surpassing Russia — reaching 1,500 kilometers into Russian land.