Updated
Updated · NPR · Jun 15
Ukrainian Unit Launches 800-Mile Drones at Russian Infrastructure, Claiming 40% Oil-Refining Disruption
Updated
Updated · NPR · Jun 15

Ukrainian Unit Launches 800-Mile Drones at Russian Infrastructure, Claiming 40% Oil-Refining Disruption

3 articles · Updated · NPR · Jun 15

Summary

  • An elite Ukrainian long-range strike team launched multiple drones from a field in eastern Ukraine overnight, aiming at infrastructure hundreds of miles away in Russia and occupied territory.
  • 800-mile drones have become a substitute for scarce cruise and ballistic missiles, and Zelenskyy says such strikes knocked out nearly 40% of Russia's primary oil-refining capacity in May.
  • Russia intercepts most incoming drones, but the unit's commander said some get through and confirmed his team helped hit an oil refinery outside Moscow last month.
  • The launches now take about two hours instead of half a day, with crews firing drones nightly as Ukraine expands deep strikes on fuel, chemical and logistics targets.

Insights

Beyond economic damage, are Ukraine's refinery strikes creating an irreversible environmental catastrophe in the Black Sea region?
As strikes on Russian oil facilities drive up global prices, must Kyiv choose between winning the war and keeping its allies?
With its oil exports crippled and military supply lines strained, how close is Russia's war machine to a breaking point?