According to a report by the U.S. publication NSJ on September 17, the Ukrainian military is launching a series of high-intensity strikes against key energy facilities within Russia.

The article reveals that Ukrainian drones successfully attacked the Kirovskaya Refinery, located nearly 800 kilometers from the front lines, in mid-September. This refinery is one of the largest heavy oil processing bases in Russia.

According to reports, this attack caused a key facility within the plant to shut down, and this facility accounts for nearly 40% of the output.

Just two days ago, Ukraine also struck the Primorsk Oil Port, causing Russian crude oil exports to be suspended.

This series of actions is part of Ukraine's carefully considered war strategy.

Ukrainian officials and intelligence agencies have repeatedly publicly stated that Russia's energy industry is not a civilian facility but the "lifeblood" of "Putin's war machine."

Now, Ukraine's strategy is to strike Russian energy facilities as much as possible, fundamentally cutting off Russia's energy production. In this way, Russia will not be able to sustain the war, and Ukraine can win.

Russian oil facilities attacked

Indeed, Ukraine's judgment has its basis.

Russia is not a country with a diversified industry; its national finances, foreign trade, and diplomatic influence are largely built on its position as the world's largest energy exporter.

Public data shows that in 2024, 61.5% of Russia's total exports came from energy and mineral products, especially crude oil, natural gas, and coal.

Among these products, oil exports dominate overwhelmingly, with annual export revenue from oil and its derivatives exceeding $190 billion.

From a fiscal perspective, in 2025, the share of oil and gas taxes in Russia's government budget still accounted for nearly a third, reaching 8.3 trillion rubles.

These revenues are used to pay soldiers' salaries, maintain battlefield logistics, rebuild damaged infrastructure, buy local governments, and subsidize economically depressed regions, forming the material basis for the war.

The Russia-Ukraine war has lasted more than three years. Despite multiple rounds of economic sanctions, Russia's military spending has continued to increase, expected to account for 7.2% of GDP in 2025.

This indicates that as long as energy continues to be sold, Russia will continue to make money and have the ability to sustain the war, even if its economic structure collapses, the war can still continue.

Russian oil facilities attacked

So the question arises: since it is known that energy is Russia's lifeline, why hasn't the West truly blocked this lifeline?

In fact, it's not that the West isn't trying. Since 2022, European countries have begun multiple rounds of decoupling from Russian energy, cutting off most gas pipeline inputs, gradually banning Russian oil, building LNG receiving stations, and turning to alternative suppliers such as Norway, the Middle East, and Africa.

During this process, Germany faced a natural gas crisis, France's electricity prices soared, Italy restarted coal power, and Poland and Finland even experienced gas shortages and power cuts, triggering panic and protests at one point.

The entire EU invested hundreds of billions of euros in energy subsidies, almost reconstructing the energy system established over the past three decades.

It can be said that Europe has indeed taken strong measures and paid a huge price.

But even so, Russia's energy exports did not stop, and instead maintained basic stability through various means.

Even going around the world, they still sell to Europe, and Europe itself has not completely cut off, with the number of Russian high-priced gas purchases remaining high.

Russian energy facilities

Additionally, Russia's oil exports have two main buyers. India has now been subjected to increased U.S. sanctions, but India continues to import Russian oil.

This has led the West to turn its attention to China. The current situation is that the U.S., Europe, NATO, and the G7 all hesitate to take action against China right now.

There are reasons for this fear, as China is the engine of the global economy, and sanctions are illegal acts.

Another reason is that the flow of energy is a product of the global market structure. The West itself has continued to buy Russian energy, and even Ukraine imports oil products from India. It's simply impossible to block, as someone will always buy.

Therefore, the most realistic approach is to continue striking Russian energy facilities, which is what the West and Ukraine have been doing. After all, even the Nord Stream pipeline was blown up; what else can't be done?

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7551313050385547812/

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