Halt the War Funding: Ukrainian Drones Attacked 20 Russian Oil Refineries in January as Russia’s Oil Revenues Drop to Annual Low
Almost every day, Ukrainian drones attack oil refineries and oil depots in Russia to stop financing the war, and the aggressor country's economy has collapsed, German WELT reports.
It is important for Ukraine to stop producing petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and supplying the Russian army. In January alone, Ukrainian drones attacked 20 Russian oil refineries. This is two-thirds of Russia's 30 large refineries.
The preparation and implementation of Ukraine's new plan took 1 year and 4 months. Currently, it takes only 48 hours for Ukrainian army drones to leave a factory and hit a Russian refinery. The higher rate of fire was made possible by the Ukrainian army's decisive technical progress.
Sanctions are also having an effect. Oil revenues to the Russian budget fell to a one-year low in January, Bloomberg reports, due to falling global prices for black gold and higher payments to the country's refiners.
Oil taxes rose to RUB 572.6 billion ($5.8 billion) compared to RUB 501.2 billion in January 2024. Total revenue from oil and gas amounted to RUB 789.1 billion, of which about 73% came from crude oil and refined products, compared to RUB 675.1 billion a year earlier.
It is noted that the Russian Ministry of Finance calculated oil taxes based on the average Urals crude oil price of USD 63.44 per barrel in December.
Although this is almost 2% higher than a year earlier, it is still closer to the annual minimum for the average monthly price.
Among other things, government subsidies to Russian refiners also hit the budget.
According to the Ministry of Finance, last month the government paid petrol and diesel producers RUB 156 billion for fuel supplies to the domestic market, the highest level in five months.
At the same time, the average exchange rate of the Russian ruble was 102.47 to the dollar, down almost 13% from a year ago, which contributed to an increase in local currency revenues.
In January alone, Russia's revenues from the gas industry rose by almost a quarter year-on-year to over RUB 216 billion, driven by increased pipeline exports and rising domestic demand.
Russia's oil revenues fell for the second month in a row, also due to lower Russian oil prices.