Ukraine hits Russian oil facilities

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on May 22 that Ukrainian forces had struck a Russian oil refinery in Yaroslavl, about 700 kilometers from Ukraine's border, in the latest long-range attack on Russian energy infrastructure. The Washington Post reported separately on May 23 that a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at a Russian oil terminal in the Krasnodar region. The two reported strikes came as Kyiv has kept up attacks on Russian oil assets while higher global crude prices have raised the value of Moscow's exports. Reuters reported that Zelenskiy described the Yaroslavl hit as part of Ukraine's effort to target Russian oil refining and export capacity. ### What did Zelenskiy say about the Yaroslavl strike? Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his May 22 evening address that "in the past 24 hours, an oil refinery was targeted in Yaroslavl, 700 kilometers from our border." He said Ukraine's "long-range sanctions" were focused primarily on Russian oil refining and oil export capacity, according to the text published on the Ukrainian presidency's website. (president.gov.ua) The presidential website published another address on May 23 in which Zelenskiy said, "Today saw our successful long-range sanction against Russia – a distance of 1,700 kilometers from our state border." In the same address, he said it was "only right that Russia is losing oil export revenues" and repeated his call for sanctions on Russia and its allies to keep functioning. ### What was reported in Krasnodar? (president.gov.ua) The Washington Post reported on May 23 that a Ukrainian drone attack triggered a fire at a Russian oil terminal in Krasnodar region. Search results available from the Post's site confirm the publication date and that the report concerned a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian oil terminal, though the full article text was not available in the retrieved result. (president.gov.ua) The Yaroslavl refinery strike and the reported Krasnodar terminal fire fit a pattern of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil facilities that Kyiv has increasingly discussed in public. Zelenskiy said on May 16 that Russia should be thinking more about "its own oil refineries and oil transshipment facilities," according to the archive of presidential video addresses. ### Why are oil facilities a repeated target? (washingtonpost.com) Reuters said the Yaroslavl strike was part of Ukraine's campaign against Russian oil facilities. Zelenskiy framed that campaign in economic terms, saying Russian oil refining and export capacity were the primary targets of Ukraine's long-range operations. The May 23 presidential address made the same point more directly. Zelenskiy said oil and gas had made Russia "so arrogant" that it continued to wage war and threaten other countries, and he linked Ukrainian strikes to the loss of Russian oil export revenue. (president.gov.ua) ### How far inside Russia are these attacks reaching? Yaroslavl is about 700 kilometers from Ukraine's border, according to Zelenskiy's May 22 statement. (washingtonpost.com) His May 23 address referred to another successful long-range operation at a distance of 1,700 kilometers from Ukraine's state border, underscoring the range Kyiv says it can now reach inside Russia. (president.gov.ua) The Washington Post said earlier this week that a Ukrainian attack on the Moscow region showed Kyiv's increasing ability to carry out long-range strikes. That report was about a separate attack, but it described the broader trend in Ukraine's operations. ### What comes next? The May 23 address said Ukraine would continue its long-range operations against Russian oil-related targets. (president.gov.ua) Zelenskiy also said he was awaiting a response from the United States on possible meeting formats and scheduling, according to the presidential website. (president.gov.ua) (washingtonpost.com)