Ukraine striking Russian energy infrastructure at unprecedented rate

{"text":[[{"start":11.9,"text":"Ukraine is striking Russian energy infrastructure at an unprecedented rate, according to an FT data analysis showing that Kyiv’s intensified drone campaign is spurring Russia’s worst fuel crisis in decades."}],[{"start":24.450000000000003,"text":"The number of successful Ukrainian strikes against Russian refineries reached an all-time monthly record of 16 in May, data from Rochan Consulting, a Polish analytical group monitoring the war, shows."}],[{"start":37.5,"text":"Since the beginning of 2026, Russian refineries have been hit at least 194 times, an 11-fold increase from the same period the previous year."}],[{"start":48.15,"text":"Kyiv and Moscow have launched record volumes of drone and missile attacks this year as long-range warfare between the two countries has intensified to its highest level since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022."}],[{"start":62.9,"text":"Russia’s defence ministry says it is intercepting the vast majority of incoming Ukrainian attack drones. However, the sheer rise in frequency and quantity of projectiles has resulted in a growing number of hits on strategic energy facilities, strike and interception data show."}],[{"start":81.25,"text":"The campaign on Russian energy infrastructure has brought Vladimir Putin’s war closer to home than ever and forced more than half of the country’s regions to impose strict limits on fuel sales, while residents have been queueing for hours at petrol stations."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":96.65,"text":"Among other attacks, in June Ukraine hit Moscow’s sole oil refinery several times, sparking huge fires that sent clouds of smoke billowing over the capital, which has not been spared from petrol shortages."}],[{"start":110.55000000000001,"text":"Analysts attribute the growing success of Ukraine’s drone campaign to its ability to significantly increase production, as well as improved management."}],[{"start":119.4,"text":"American intelligence assistance has also played a role, aiding Kyiv in charting the best paths for its drones and helping to skirt air defences, senior Ukrainian officials told the FT."}],[{"start":130.15,"text":"“Ukraine has had a technological breakthrough, which allowed them to produce more long-range drones and increase overall mass production,” said Stefan Meister, the head of the Eurasia programme at the German Council on Foreign Relations. "}],[{"start":143.45000000000002,"text":"Official figures published by the Russian defence ministry show that at least 63,933 of Kyiv’s drones were intercepted over Russia and occupied Ukrainian territories in the first six months of 2026."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":158.55,"text":"Half of all claimed interceptions took place in the past two months, when Russia reported downing 14,195 drones in May and 17,832 in June. By comparison, the monthly totals for January and February did not exceed 6,000, according to the data."}],[{"start":177.70000000000002,"text":"The findings suggest that the intensification of Kyiv’s aerial campaign is putting Russia’s air defences under unprecedented strain, making it harder for Moscow to defend the critical energy and military assets that support its war machine."}],[{"start":191.35000000000002,"text":"The Ukrainian strikes have also destroyed the Kremlin’s carefully maintained illusion that normal life in Russia has carried on during the war, said Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a Moscow defence think-tank."}],[{"start":204.55,"text":"“At a fundamental level, we can see Putin has made another fatal strategic error in this war, thinking for some reason that time was only on his side. He couldn’t get Ukraine to capitulate, but he gave them enough time to develop mass production of ‘deep strikes’,” Pukhov said."}],[{"start":222.05,"text":"Russia will have to spend considerable resources on improving its air defences and may struggle to produce enough systems and interceptors, Pukhov added."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":231,"text":"Kyiv is increasingly able to strike at longer distances and to attack the same target with more drones, wearing down Russian defences. The push has been helped by the appointment of a new digital technology minister in January."}],[{"start":243.7,"text":"“Ukraine is not simply conducting more strikes than it did a year ago. The campaign has evolved from a relatively narrow effort against oil infrastructure into a broader strategic interdiction campaign aimed at degrading Russia’s energy, logistics, industrial and export systems simultaneously,” said Konrad Muzyka, director of Rochan Consulting. "}],[{"start":263.8,"text":"The intensification comes as Volodymyr Zelenskyy signalled that his forces would make a concerted push this summer to try to compel his Russian counterpart to end his years-long war of aggression."}],[{"start":275.95,"text":"The Ukrainian leader said last week that Kyiv was embarking on “a 40-day influence operation” to be carried out by its long-range strike units."}],[{"start":284.4,"text":"However, Putin has shown no sign that Ukraine’s latest campaigns will force him to the negotiating table. Instead, he has doubled down, insisting that Russia is winning the war and that its military goals are still achievable. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":297.65,"text":"His Russian negotiators have told the American side that it needs to get Kyiv to agree to sweeping concessions, senior Ukrainian officials involved in the peace negotiations told the FT. Those officials said the US-brokered trilateral peace talks were unlikely to resume until after the summer."}],[{"start":316.5,"text":"Russia’s focus on Putin’s maximalist goals means Moscow is unlikely to take part in any meaningful talks before February next year, another person in Moscow involved in back-channel talks to end the war said."}],[{"start":330.5,"text":"“The preferred option of the Russians so far remains that the Americans will ‘deliver’ Ukraine for us,” the person said. “They are not hinting at any concessions. They keep repeating the same objectives . . . Their basis for negotiations essentially means there is no basis for negotiations.”"}],[{"start":347.05,"text":"Even as Russia’s ground offensive has slowed to a grinding and costly creep, Putin has ordered his troops to capture the remainder of the eastern Donetsk province by the end of the year, according to Zelenskyy, a Ukrainian intelligence assessment seen by the FT and two people who speak to the Russian president."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":364.15000000000003,"text":"In a state television interview on June 28, Putin admitted that the Ukrainian strikes were causing “problems” but argued that Russia’s troops still had the upper hand."}],[{"start":374.3,"text":"The Russian president has also increasingly relied on air power to hit at Ukraine, with the scale of Russia’s missile and drone attacks increasing in recent months. "}],[{"start":383.05,"text":"The combined number of Russian missiles and drones launched on Ukraine has exceeded 5,000 per month since February, according to Ukrainian government data."}],[{"start":392.85,"text":"On Thursday, Russian forces launched 74 missiles and nearly 500 drones at Kyiv. At least 30 people were killed and more than 90 injured, according to Zelenskyy. Ten people were still unaccounted for late on Friday as rescuers searched through debris at three strike locations, he said."}],[{"start":419.80000000000007,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783250485_4648.mp3"}