Ukraine’s drone strikes intensify
Ukrainian drones have successfully struck Russian oil refineries at least 194 times since the beginning of 2026, contributing to a growing fuel crisis in Russia.
That is according to the Financial Times, citing its own analysis and data from the Polish analytical group Rochan Consulting, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.
According to the analysts, the number of successful Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries reached a record monthly high of 16 in May. Overall, Russian refineries have been hit at least 194 times since the start of 2026 – 11 times more than during the same period last year.
At the same time, Moscow claims its military intercepts the vast majority of Ukrainian attack drones, the report notes. Official figures released by the Russian Defense Ministry state that at least 63,933 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Russia and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine during the first six months of 2026.
Half of all the claimed interceptions occurred in the last two months, with Russia reporting that it shot down 14,195 drones in May and 17,832 in June. By comparison, the monthly totals for January and February did not exceed 6,000, the newspaper said.
The report notes that the data on Ukrainian strikes and Russian drone interceptions indicate a significant increase in both the frequency of attacks and the number of drones successfully reaching Russia's strategic energy facilities.
Analysts attribute the growing success of Ukraine's drone campaign to its ability to significantly expand production, as well as to improved operational management.
U.S. intelligence support has also played a role by helping Kyiv select optimal flight routes for its drones and avoid Russian air defense systems.
According to Stefan Meister, head of the Eurasia program at the German Council on Foreign Relation, Ukraine has achieved a technological breakthrough that has enabled it to produce more long-range drones and significantly scale up their mass production.
Photo: Chat GPT
