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Zelensky says Ukraine has disabled over half of Russia’s oil refining capacity amid intense strike campaign
Ukraine’s president claims strikes have knocked out more than 55% of Russia’s oil refining capacity, calling this a justified answer to Russian attacks that he says sent 2,300 drones and 1,590 bombs at Ukraine in a week.
Ukraine and Russia are intensifying attacks on each other’s energy systems, with Kyiv claiming major damage to Russian oil refining just as Moscow steps up strikes on Ukrainian power infrastructure.
On 15 November, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian actions had “neutralized” or “disabled” more than 55% of Russia’s oil refining capacity. He called the strikes a “legitimate” and “justified” response to Russia’s refusal to de-escalate and to its continued attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities. The scale of damage he cited has not been independently verified, and Russian officials have not publicly confirmed losses on that level.
Zelensky’s remarks came as he summed up a week in which, by his account, Russia launched more than 2,300 attack drones, 1,590 aerial bombs and 15 missiles of various types against Ukraine over seven days. Those figures also cannot be fully confirmed from open sources but indicate the intensity of Russian operations and the strain on Ukrainian air defences.
He argued that hitting refineries and related infrastructure is meant to limit Russia’s ability to fuel and finance its war. Damage to refining capacity can force adjustments in how crude is processed and distributed and can disrupt flows of fuel that support the wider economy.
For people inside Ukraine, Russia’s strikes mean blackouts, damaged substations and pressure on heating systems heading into winter. Ukrainian authorities have warned of a threat of a large-scale Russian ballistic missile attack, with alerts issued for Kyiv and several regions. Earlier in the evening, air-raid sirens sounded in the capital and multiple oblasts because of missile danger, and local officials issued ballistic-threat warnings that were later lifted.
The fighting leaves energy workers in both countries operating under direct threat. In Ukraine, crews race to repair the grid while new waves of drones and missiles arrive. In Russia, personnel run facilities that have become high-priority targets for long-range strikes. Expectations that power plants, refineries and export routes will be attacked are shaping insurance costs, safety rules and investment plans.
This cycle risks deepening as each side responds to the other’s actions. The more Ukraine targets Russian refining, the more incentive Russia has to keep hitting Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Developments to monitor include satellite and other independent assessments of damage at Russian refineries, official data on outages and exports, and the scope of the next Russian strikes on Ukrainian power assets. Political signals from Ukraine’s key partners about their stance on attacks against targets inside Russia will also help indicate how this phase of the campaign might evolve.