Ukraine said this weekend that this is so attacks on Russian oil installations have cut production so much that Russia now has to import fuel for its fighter planes.
On Saturday, the Ukrainian GUR, the country’s military intelligence agency, said that “systematic and precise attacks by the Ukrainian army against the Russian oil refinery network have led to a significant reduction in jet fuel production in the Russian Federation.”
It said it was from Russia increasing air raids on Ukraine“combined with the need to maintain civil air transport, have led to a shortage of domestic resources.”
“To meet the needs of military and civil aviation, Russia, which has positioned itself as an energy superpower for decades, has officially imposed a temporary ban on the export of its own jet fuel and is being forced to look for ways to import foreign Jet A-1 jet fuel,” the GUR said.
That fuel is compatible with a range of Russian military aircraft used to launch missiles and bombs, as well as jet-powered drones. The GUR added that Russia is now fueling its Il-76MD-90A military transport with fuel not recommended by the manufacturer.
The GUR said Russia had purchased at least 70,000 tons of aviation fuel from South Korea and Egypt, which was delivered on three shadow fleet tankers. The fleet is a network of ships serving Russia used to circumvent Western sanctions through, among other things, hidden ownership.
The GUR said on Saturday that Russian attempts to “circumvent sanctions will inevitably receive an appropriate response”.
Ukraine conducts a major long-range strike campaign targeting oil and gas facilities in Russia, in an attempt to damage the country’s economy, which is heavily dependent on the energy sector, and to frustrate the country’s ability to continue its invasion of Ukraine. The attacks hit targets hundreds of kilometers deep in Russia.
Ukraine refers to these strikes against the Russian economy as ‘long-term sanctions’. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised this month that “there will be more Ukrainian deep strikes, which should demonstrate to Russia and the Russians that peace is necessary.”
Ukraine has targeted Russian oil and gas installations. Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel data 2026
Ukraine has increased the pace considerably of these strikes this year and this month claimed a host of victories against targets, including strikes on refineries, processing facilities and terminals. The country has said some locations have halted operations as a result.
Zelenskyy said in June that almost 40% of Russia’s primary oil refining capacity was offline the month before. And he said this month that it remains a priority for Ukraine.
The Russian economy is highly dependent on oil and gas. Western sanctions have hit the sector, but… Russia also received a reprieve when the war in Iran limited other energy sources by closing the Strait of Hormuz, a route Russia does not rely on. Kiev is trying to restore some of that pressure.
Ukraine has mainly used homemade cruise missiles and drones to hit targets in Russia. Although Western partners provided long-range weapons, restrictions on their use within Russia forced Ukraine’s booming defense industry to develop domestic solutions.
Ukraine has unveiled new longer-range weapons in recent months to deepen its campaign, including drones with a range of more than 3,000 kilometers.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s former defense minister, said this month that Ukraine could be able to hit Russian territory with domestically made ballistic missiles within the next three to six months. These weapons typically have a longer range and move much faster than cruise missiles.
Ukraine is battling barrages of Russian attacks on its territory, stretching its air defenses thin. A key target Kiev wants to pursue is Russia’s rocket launchers.
Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine. Zelensky said on Sunday that Russia had launched nearly 2,000 attack drones, more than 1,600 glide bombs and 31 missiles, including North Korean ballistic missiles, at Ukraine in the past week.
Ukraine’s long-range attack campaign, which focuses exclusively on legitimate military targets rather than cities and civilian infrastructure like Russian strikes, has not yet pushed Moscow toward negotiations to end hostilities, but Kiev hopes the fuel shortages will increase the cost of the war and limit some attacks.
