Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence has evidence that one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region, has stopped operating. The facility had processed 17 million tonnes of oil annually. According to Ukrainian intelligence, some components of Russian exports have fallen by 80% this month alone, while the strikes have also significantly affected Russia’s military production.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported this following a briefing by Defence Intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko.
According to Zelenskyy, the data on the decline in exports is contained in internal Russian documents. The president said this represents significant losses for Russia’s federal and regional budgets.
The Russian side also acknowledges that Black Sea Fleet vessels are effectively blocked in Novorossiysk due to Ukrainian drone strikes and are unable to operate fully at sea.
Because the fleet is unable to provide escorts for commercial vessels and ships belonging to the so-called shadow fleet, Russia is considering equipping civilian vessels with small arms and electronic warfare systems and placing military personnel on board, according to Ukrainian intelligence.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is preparing measures to respond to such militarization of civilian shipping.
Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence also confirmed the high effectiveness of Ukrainian long-range strikes against Russian military production facilities and oil industry infrastructure.
In particular, following strikes on the Kamensky Plant in Russia’s Rostov region, Russia has, according to available data, lost a significant part of its capacity to manufacture solid-fuel rocket engines.
Ukrainian intelligence has also received updated information on Russia’s production of ballistic missiles and plans to expand that production. Zelenskyy stressed the need to completely block supplies to Russia of foreign components, equipment and machine tools used in its missile program.
In addition to the refinery in Kstovo, other Russian oil refining facilities have also stopped operating, according to Defence Intelligence. Zelenskyy said Ukraine would continue its long-range strikes.
