'51% out of action': Ukraine claims major blow to Russia's oil refining

Ukraine's defence ministry on Monday claimed more than half of Russia's oil refining capacity was destroyed by its armed forces."More than 51 per cent of Russia's oil refining capacity is out of action", the ministry said on X.The ministry also reported targeting refineries and processing facilities in Moscow, Yaroslavl, KINEF (Kirishi), Ust-Luga, Perm, Ilsky, Saratov, and Syzran regions, among others during recent attacks.Ukraine has been targeting Russia's energy infrastructure in an attempt to curb Moscow's revenue that funds its war campaigns.Ukraine's defence minister Evgeniy Khmara claimed the partial paralysis was a result of carefully planned and systematic work to destroy Moscow's military-economic potential.This is the result of carefully planned, methodical, and systematic work aimed at bleeding the Russian war machine dry and destroying its military-economic potential," Khmara said, calling the attacks "a serious blow to the enemy's economy, to its ability to wage aggression and to supply its forces."Ukraine increases long-range capabilityAccording to Ukraine’s defence ministry, long-range strike drones have been one of their priorities."This year, we have tripled production and procurement. That is not the limit. Deep strike capabilities will keep scaling", the ministry said."Our deep strikes keep bringing the war onto Russian territory", Khmara said.Last week, Kyiv deployed its home-built ballistic missile "FP-7" in combat for the first time as an affordable alternative to the American supersonic Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the deployment through his post on X."Ukrainian tactical ballistic missile. FP-7. First combat use. Thank you for the result", Zelensky wrote.Russia warns of intensified strikesPreviously, Zelenskyy told Reuters that the forces would "double down" on attacks against Russian oil refineries in response to what he described as a new Russian campaign targeting infrastructure across Ukrainian cities.Russia on Sunday responded that it will intensify strikes on Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine.Russian defence ministry, cited by state-run TASS news agency, said that the Russian forces would step up attacks on military facilities, defence industry sites and related infrastructure in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine.Last week, Russia conducted one of its biggest drone and missile attacks on Kyiv's power grid and areas around the region. Moscow's attacks now target Kyiv's all-round infrastructure, including bridges.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.