Ukraine has hit Russian oil platforms in the Caspian Sea with long-range drones three times in a matter of days, a security source told Business Insider on Monday.
In the most recent attack, drones struck a platform at the Korchagin oil and gas condensate field, causing damage at the facility and forcing it to halt production, said the source in the Security Service of Ukraine, who was only authorized to speak anonymously to discuss sensitive military developments.
The drone attack is the latest against Russia’s energy sector, a critical source of income for Moscow that helps fuel its war efforts in Ukraine. Kyiv has ramped up its deep-strike campaign on key oil and gas facilities and is now targeting infrastructure in the Caspian Sea, hitting activities there for the third time in less than a week.
The source in the SBU, Ukraine’s main internal security agency, said that drones struck the Filanovsky oil production platform last Thursday, marking the first time Kyiv had caused damage to Russian oil infrastructure in the Caspian Sea.
The following day, Ukrainian drones struck the Filanovsky platform again and also hit the Korchagin platform. The SBU source said that the attacks caused damage at both facilities and forced a suspension of operations.
The platforms are owned by Lukoil-Nizhnevolzhskneft, a subsidiary of the Russian energy giant Lukoil. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the drone attacks. Additionally, neither Russia’s defense ministry nor its US embassy responded to requests for comment.
Security Service Official/Handout via REUTERS
The SBU source said that the agency is working to deny Russia the critical revenue from its energy sector, which helps finance the war in Ukraine. They said that the Filanovsky deposit is one of Russia’s largest, with an estimated 129 million tons of oil.
“No Russian object working for the war is safe regardless of its location,” the source said, according to a translation of their remarks shared with Business Insider.
The repeated targeting of the two Caspian Sea oil platforms appears to signal a new shift for Ukraine as it continues to strike Russian oil and gas infrastructure.
For months, Ukraine has mostly carried out attacks against oil refineries, ports, and other facilities across Russia. However, in recent weeks, Kyiv has expanded these operations beyond land and intensified its strikes on maritime targets.
Just before the three strikes in the Caspian Sea, Ukraine used its naval drones packed with explosives to attack three tankers allegedly belonging to the Russian “shadow fleet,” a collection of hundreds of vessels that Moscow uses to move oil and circumvent sanctions on its energy exports.
Ukrainian officials have described the campaign against the Russian energy sector as “long-range” sanctions. The deep-strike campaign has been a bright spot for Kyiv in this war as Moscow’s forces continue to make slow but costly gains on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has repeatedly urged its international partners to do more to prevent Russia from exporting oil and earning cash to fuel its invasion.
