More than half of Russia’s oil refining capacity is now out of action, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry. In an update on October 4, Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara said over 51% had been disabled, citing analysts from Ukraine’s intelligence services, the Defense Ministry and the General Staff. The figure comes from Kyiv and was not independently verified in the report.
“This is the result of carefully planned, systematic, and comprehensive actions aimed at crippling the Russian war machine and destroying its military-economic potential,” Khmara said. He called the damage “a significant blow to the enemy’s economy, to its ability to wage aggression, and to supply its military formations.”
The campaign
Ukraine has systematically hit Russian oil and gas infrastructure with long-range strikes and sharply expanded its attacks on refineries over the past two years. Kyiv regards them as valid military targets because they supply both fuel and funds to the Russian armed forces. The ministry’s report listed recent attacks on the Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kirishi, Perm, Ilsky, Saratov and Syzran refineries.
The number has climbed. Ukraine’s General Staff reported a 45% drop in Russian refining capacity on September 21, so the new assessment adds six points in under two weeks. On September 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree restricting access to data on the country’s refineries and energy exports, as Ukraine’s deep strikes escalated.
Reach and output
Ukraine’s long-range drones and missiles regularly reach targets more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory. On September 9 the military reported a new record, when a Fire Point FP-1 drone hit a Russian gas facility 3,200 kilometers (1,988 miles) from the border.
The ministry also said Ukraine tripled its production and procurement of long-range strike drones in 2026. “This is not the limit,” it said. “We will continue to scale up our long-range strike capabilities.”
