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Ukraine is Waging a Strategic Air Campaign Against Russian Oil Production

Issues to Consider

Phillips P. OBrien's avatar
Phillips P. OBrien
Mar 15, 2024
∙ Paid

Hello All,

That sound you might be hearing of regular explosions involves what is definitely a coordinated Ukrainian strategic air campaign against Russian oil production. Its been going on for a while now, though in just the last few weeks it has seen a significant step up in action. For instance, two days ago there was an attack on a Russian oil refinery in Ryazan, which the Ukrainians openly admitted to having launched.

UAVs attacked a Rosneft-owned oil refinery in Ryazan
Russian Oil Refiner in Ryazan burning after the Ukrainian attack on March 13.

Just a few minutes ago, there was another attack that occurred against a Russian oil facility in Kaluga, which is 50 or so miles to the southwest of Moscow. There are some dramatic videos of the moment that the Ukrainian UAVs hit. Once again the target seems to have been an oil refinery, and once again at least one of the UAVs seems to have hit the target and caused a substantial explosion.

I thought, therefore, it might be useful to put some of the key considerations down for you to consider—they are (1) the method of attack (and defense), (2) the difficulties of such a campaign and (3) the potential great benefits if the campaign works.

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