Drone Attacks Hurt Russian Oil Capacity
Oil and gas account for 16% of Russian GDP and are a critical factor in the funding of the invasion of Ukraine. Drone attacks have recently hampered production. Continued success with these drone attacks will undermine its critical access to capital.
Big Oil —US Gas Prices
The drop in processing rates reached almost 380,000 barrels a day compared with most of December, the last month before Ukraine started hitting Russian refineries. So far in February, Russia’s daily runs have slipped to an average of about 5.21 million barrels, the lowest since early October, Bloomberg calculations show.
The point at which Russia’s decreasing oil production will undermine the country’s economy is not clear. It is not known how many drone attacks have occurred or how accurate they have been.
If the Ukrainians have information on the effects of their attacks, they are likely to increase the use of drones as long as access to effective supply chains and funding is available. Ukraine has falling supplies of many armaments because of eroding military support, primarily from the US.
Drones were an inexpensive tool for fighting the Russians early in the invasion when Ukraine had relatively few military assets before receiving military assistance from Europe and the US. At this time in the war, drones, inexpensive and effective, may be a weapon of necessity again.
