In the last 7 days, Ukraine systematically destroyed nearly half of Russia's oil export capacity.
Not with tanks. Not with soldiers.
With drones.
Here is what happened:
1. March 23 — Primorsk oil terminal. Baltic Sea.
Ukraine hit Russia's chief oil loading port on the Baltic coast.
Satellite images confirmed smoke rising from the terminal the same morning.
Primorsk previously handled roughly 22% of Russia's seaborne crude exports.
Operations suspended.
2. March 25 — Ust-Luga terminal. Baltic Sea.
Ukraine struck again — this time the Novatek terminal at Ust-Luga.
Ust-Luga is one of Russia's largest Baltic ports and a major hub for exporting crude oil and LNG.
A large fire broke out. Visible from St. Petersburg.
Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations warned residents of "air pollution."
Ust-Luga and Primorsk together handle approximately 45% of Russia's seaborne crude exports.
Both now offline.
3. March 26 — Kirishi Refinery. Leningrad Oblast.
Ukraine hit Russia's second-largest oil refinery — the Kirishinefteorgsintez plant in Kirishi.
800 kilometers from Ukraine's border.
The refinery processes nearly 7% of Russia's total oil — 350,000 barrels per day.
Fires confirmed in primary crude processing units, two storage tanks, bitumen production facilities, and gas fractionation systems.
The plant halted operations.
This was at least the fifth Ukrainian strike on this facility since March 2024.
4. March 28 — Yaroslavl Refinery. Northeast of Moscow.
Ukraine hit again. A large oil refinery northeast of the Russian capital.
Direct hit. Fire confirmed.
Total damage as of today:
According to Reuters, 40% of Russia's crude oil export capacity has been disrupted.
2 million barrels per day are gone.
The most severe disruption to Russian oil exports in modern history.
.
.
Before the Iran conflict began, Russia's oil and gas revenue had collapsed by 50%.
Kremlin officials had warned Putin privately that a financial crisis could hit by summer.
The budget deficit was widening. Reserves draining. The cost of the Ukraine war accelerating.
Then the Iran war started.
The Strait of Hormuz closed.
Oil went from $70 a barrel on February 27th to $108 on March 26th.
Russian crude — which had been trading at a steep discount — suddenly reached near-parity with global benchmarks.
US sanctions on Russian crude were temporarily lifted to calm oil markets.
Russia's oil revenues nearly doubled in a single month.
Putin had won the lottery.
And then Ukraine lit the refineries on fire.
Ukraine is losing territory. Losing soldiers. Running low on weapons.
Russia just got a $100 oil windfall it desperately needed to fund the war.
So Ukraine did the only thing it could.
It went straight for the money.
Not the battlefield. The cash flow.
10 major strikes on Russian energy infrastructure in March alone.
Ports. Refineries. Terminals. Pipelines.
40% of Russia's export capacity — disrupted.
Russia is now considering banning gasoline exports entirely to protect its own domestic supply.
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