Moscow improves drone interception systems, preventing Ukraine from attacking Russian oil infrastructure - Reuters
In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have launched about 60 strikes on Russia's oil infrastructure, disabling at least 21% of the aggressor country's oil refining capacity.
As Censor NET informs, this was reported by Reuters.
The attacks were aimed not only at oil refineries (refineries), but also at pumping stations, storage facilities, and export terminals. Among the affected facilities are remote enterprises: the most remote refinery in Tyumen is located approximately 1,992 km from the Ukrainian border. Some enterprises were hit several times.
According to a source in the Ukrainian government, the goal of the campaign is to create a shortage of gasoline and diesel fuel in Russia - this should complicate the logistics and advance of Russian forces on the front. Disruptions in fuel supplies in the regions of the Russian Federation and an approximately 10% increase in gasoline prices in some areas have already been recorded.
The main tool of the attacks has become the Deep Strike class strike drones, in particular the "Fever" and FP-1 models, which can cover distances of more than 1,000 km. To relieve Russian air defense, operations are often accompanied by the launch of decoy drones in the initial stages.
In turn, Reuters notes that the effectiveness of intercepting Deep Strike by Russian air defenses is increasing, and the proportion of drones that reach their targets is decreasing. Journalists quote experts that the main problem for Ukraine remains the scale of operations: even with the increase in drone production, they are still not enough to constantly break through the enemy's improved air defenses.
To increase the resilience of attacks, Ukrainian engineers are using optical guidance technology: the drone takes a photo of the terrain and compares it with a map, which complicates neutralization due to jamming navigation signals. Reuters also reports that the Ukrainian side receives intelligence from the United States, which is used in planning Deep Strike.
Bottom line: the campaign's effects are already being felt - supply disruptions and price increases - but its long-term success will depend on Kyiv's ability to scale up production of strike UAVs and on the further evolution of Russian air defense systems.
