Since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has launched over 20 strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, costing Russia more than 7 billion dollars.
A series of strikes in late March and early April targeted major Russian oil terminals, including Ust-Luga and Primorsk on the Baltic Sea, and Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. These attacks led to multi-week closures of port facilities and a temporary reduction in export volumes, costing Russia approximately 2.2 billion dollars in lost revenue, said Borys Dodonov, head of the Center for Energy and Climate Research at the Kyiv School of Economics.
Impact on Revenue and Production
According to Dodonov, recent strikes on Russian oil refineries will further increase this total. Specifically, attacks on Rosneft’s plant in Tuapse caused significant damage, potentially forcing Russia to completely rebuild the refinery at a cost of 5 billion dollars.
Despite the rising losses, Russia’s oil export revenues still increased. In March, they reached 19 billion dollars, up from 9.8 billion dollars in February. This price surge was triggered by the war with Iran, Dodonov said.
Amid increasing sanctions pressure on Russia’s budget and the rising economic cost of the war, Russia needs global oil prices to average 115 dollars per barrel by year-end. This is necessary to meet its current budget plan for 2026 without cuts, said Craig Kennedy, a researcher at Harvard University.
Kennedy added that strikes on Russian oil infrastructure compelled Russian oil companies to cut production in April by approximately 300,000–400,000 barrels.
Source: The Washington Post
