The deep strike campaign, or long-range strike campaign is a military campaign by the Defence Forces of Ukraine against the logistics of the Russian Federation and the Russian Armed Forces. The campaign involves long-range drone strikes and missile strikes inside Russia, mainly targeting the oil industry and the arms industry. The goal is to undermine Russia's economic ability to continue waging its war against Ukraine. It is part of a broader wave of Ukrainian attacks inside Russia in response to the 2022 invasion.
Overview "Deep strike" refers to the range of 200 to 1500+ kilometres, for which specialised deep-strike or long-range one-way attack drones have been developed by Ukraine, especially unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as: AN-196
UJ-26
Certain cruise missiles built by Ukraine or supplied by Ukraine's allies also take part in the deep strike campaign. Although these tend to be much more expensive, and easier to intercept, they carry larger warheads and thus present a greater threat to potential Russian targets:
There are also several types of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) deployed by the Ukrainian Navy and Ukrainian Marine Corps on the Black Sea against Russia's Black Sea Fleet:
Objectives The primary targets of Ukraine's deep strike campaign have been the petroleum industry in Russia and military assets of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as ports and airports. The export of hydrocarbons, mostly oil and gas, has been the Russian government's main source of revenue used for military spending on the war. A secondary objective has been to put pressure on the civilian population of Russia (also called "bringing the war back to Russia"), which through a mixture of acquiescence and participation keeps enabling the Kremlin's military aggression against Ukraine.
History Summary of 2022–2026 The deep strike campaign began in early 2024, with a few dozen pilotless aircraft per month. By June 2026, Ukraine was launching an average of 200 to 300 drones against targets in the Russian Federation every night, divided in several groups per strike.
Waryear Number of strikes onRussia's oil facilitiesIn yearCumulative 1st 3 3 2nd 13 16 3rd 92 108 4th 138 246 Feb '26–Jun '26 59 305
According to a 25 June 2026 analysis by CNN, Ukraine had struck Russian oil facilities over 300 times since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022. Only 3 strikes were performed in the first year of the war (February 2022 to February 2023), with an additional 13 in the second year. Ukraine's attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure only really took off in 2024, with a cumulative total of 108 hits after three years of war, 246 after four years, and a total of 305 strikes when including 24 February 2022 to 25 June 2026.
In 2025 A substantial increase in targeted attacks by Ukraine on Russian energy infrastructure began in the second half of 2025. According to media reports, Ukraine carried out over a dozen drone attacks on Russian oil infrastructure between 2 and 24 August, the majority of them striking facilities in Ryazan Oblast and Volgograd Oblast in southwestern Russia. On 27 August, Ukrainian media reported that the Ryazan refinery, one of the main fuel arteries to Moscow, had been struck by a powerful explosion. Boris Aronstein, an independent oil and gas analyst, said that the Ukrainian drone strikes had caused "the most severe crisis in recent years", adding that the size, coordination and repeated waves of the drones makes Russia unable to repair the refineries before the next attack occurs. According to Reuters, Crimea and Russia's far east were the first territories to experience gasoline shortages in August.
In September 2025, Reuters reported that Russia was seeing certain fuel grade shortages, with the reduced refinery runs caused by the drone attacks and high borrowing costs leading to private filling stations being unable to stockpile fuel according to retailers and traders. According to Reuters, the attacks on some days had reduced Russian oil refining by almost a fifth, and cut exports from key ports. According to five retailers and traders in the Russian fuel market during September, problems from the shortages started to emerge in the Volga river region and in southern and central Russia as well. On 29 September, Forbes reported that the issues with fuel had worsened quickly and spread across much of the country, with rising prices, rationing, long queues and pumps running dry in some cases.
In October 2025, BBC Verify and BBC Russian reported that Ukrainian drone attacks reached a record level of 14 refineries targeted in August, while eight had been targeted in September and 12 in August, and that 21 out of Russia's 38 large refineries had been hit since January 2025. Meduza reported that some gas stations were shutting down altogether due to being unable to raise prices because of antitrust restrictions. In Crimea, Russian occupation officials limited gasoline sales to 20 liters per customer and imposed price caps.
In 2026
According to a 17 June 2026 analysis by The Economist, Ukraine had conducted 685 deep strikes in 2025, and was on track to complete over 800 deep strikes in 2026 at the current pace, indicating a significant intensification.
In early July 2026, Euromaidanpress quoted the Pilotless Systems Forces of Ukraine as saying they had increased successful strikes deep inside Russian-held territory by 1,150% since the beginning of 2026.
The deepest strike so far has been the 7 July 2026 drone attack on the Omsk refinery, Russia's largest oil refinery, located almost 2,500 kilometres from Ukraine.
On 26 August, the Kstovo refinery (NORSI) was hit once again, forcing Lukoil to halt processing crude oil once more.
Ukrainian attack on Iranian commercial vessel On 25 July 2026, Ukraine claimed responsibility for an attack on an Iranian-linked vessel in the Caspian Sea, alleging that the ship was involved in transporting military-related cargo between Iran and Russia to support Russia's war effort in Ukraine. The strike reportedly damaged the vessel and resulted in a sailor's death and another injured, according to Iran. Ukraine presented the operation as part of its campaign to disrupt Russia's supply networks, particularly routes used to transfer weapons and military equipment.
Following the attack, Iran considered a retaliatory strike against Ukraine, reportedly targeting a Ukrainian Black Sea port with a limited ballistic missile strike. However, diplomatic efforts between Iranian and Ukrainian officials reduced tensions. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the incident as 'unintentional', though Iran continued to demand compensation for the losses.
Following unconfirmed reports circulated on Telegram channels claiming that Iran planned to launch up to three ballistic missiles against Ukraine, Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, stated that there was no official information confirming such preparations and warned against spreading unverified claims. However, he emphasised that Iran may possess ballistic missiles that could be used for such attacks.
List of oil industry facilities in Russia hit by Ukrainian strikes
Oil refineries, oil terminals and other oil industrial infrastructure in Russia, struck by Ukrainian attacks since 2025, ranked by refining or transloading capacity. The distance from Ukrainian-controlled territory is indicated in kilometres.
Oil refineries
Facility Region Operator Capacity by MTPA Ref Distance(km) Date of strike(s) Omsk refinery Omsk Oblast Gazprom Neft 22.0 (2024) 2500 Kirishi refinery(Kinef) Leningrad Oblast Surgutneftegas 17.5 (2024) 810 March 2024, , 4 October 2025, 8 March 2026, 26 March 2026, , 9 July 2026 Ryazan refinery Ryazan Oblast Rosneft 13.1 (2024) 480 , , 2 August 2026, , , , 24 February 2026, , 29 July 2026 Kstovo refinery Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Lukoil (NORSI) 15.0 800 5 April 2026, 20 May 2026, 24 June 2026, , Yaroslavl refinery (YANOS) Yaroslavl Oblast Slavneft 14.9 (2024) 700 1 October 2025, 12 December 2025, , Volgograd refinery Volgograd Oblast Lukoil (2024)-40% (2026) 500 11 February 2026, Perm refinery Perm Krai Lukoil 12.6 (2024) 1485 29 April 2026, , 29 July 2026 Moscow refinery Moscow Gazprom Neft 475 , , Ukrainian Drone Strikes Ignite Massive Fires at Moscow Refinery and Surrounding Areas, INKORR, 20 September 2026.Ukrainian drones and missiles target Moscow, oil refinery in deadly attack, ABC News, 20 Serptember 2026. Tuapse refineryTuapse oil terminal Krasnodar Krai Rosneft 12.0 500 24–25 January 2024, 17 May 2024, 22 July 2024, 14 March 2025, 6 October 2025, 2 November 2025, , , , , 26–27 May 2026 Syzran refinery Samara Oblast Rosneft 9 800 18 April 2026, 21 May 2026, 12 July 2026 TANECO Tatarstan Tatneft 17.0 (2024) 1150 , , 7–8 July 2026 TAIF-NIK Tatarstan Sibur-RT 8.5 1150 7–8 July 2026 Antipinsky refinery Tyumen Oblast RI-Invest 6.0~9.0 2000+ 20 June 2026, 25 July 2026 Novokuibyshevsk refinery Samara Oblast Rosneft 5.74 (2024) 900 , , Ufimsky refinery Bashkortostan Bashneft 3.8 (2024) 1400 3 March 2025, 11 October 2025, 25 June 2025, 1 July 2026. Saratov oil refinery Saratov Oblast Rosneft 5.8 (2024) 700 21 November 2025, 30 May 2026, 8 July 2026 Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat Bashkortostan Gazprom 6.5~7.2 1300 9 May 2024, 18 September 2025, 24 September 2025, 13 July 2026 Ilsky refinery Krasnodar Krai INPZ 6.6 500 At least 16 times between May 2023 and 2 June 2026, 10 July 2026 Afipsky refinery Krasnodar Krai SAFMAR 6.25 200 10 February 2025, 7 August 2025, 29 November 2025, 14 March 2026, 11 June 2026, 14 July 2026 Kuibyshev refinery Samara Oblast Rosneft 4.7 (2024) 850 9–10 June 2026 Slavyansk Refinery Krasnodar Krai Slavyansk ECO 5.2 350 , , 28 June 2026 Novo-Ufimskyrefinery Bashkortostan Bashneft – Novoil 3.8 (2024) 1400 1–2 April 2026 Krasnodar refinery Krasnodar Krai SAFMAR 3.0 375 30 August 2025 Ukhta refinery Komi Republic Lukoil 3.0 (2025) 1720 12 February 2026
Oil terminals and other facilities Facility Region Operator MTPA Ref Distance (km) Date of strike(s) Sheskharis oil terminalGrushova Balka oil depot Port of Novorossiysk,Krasnodar Krai Transneft 19.8 (2025) 340 Sheskharis: 17 May 2024, 2 March 2026, 6 April 2026, 23 May 2026Grushovaya: 23 May 2026, 8 June 2026 Novorossiysk Fuel Oil Terminal (NOFT) NCSP & Gunvor 17 May 2024 Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka CPC marine terminal Caspian Pipeline Consortium 29 November 2025 Port of Primorsk Leningrad Oblast Transneft 60.0 1087 12 September 2025, 22–23 and 25 March 2026, 5 April 2026, 3 May 2026 Ust-Luga Multimodal Complex Ust-Luga Oil JSC terminal Nevskaya OPC terminal Novatek terminal Leningrad Oblast Ust-Luga Oil JSCNevskaya: Gazprombank& Transneft-BaltikaNovatek 32.9 (2025)9.0 875 21 January 2024, 24 August 2025 (Novatek), 22, 25, 27, 29, 31 March 2026, 6 July 2026 Petersburg Oil Terminal Leningrad Oblast Petersburg Oil Terminal JSC 12.5 1100 18 January 2024, 3 June 2026, 4 July 2026 Tikhoretsk oil pumping station Krasnodar Krai Transneft 45 300 12 March 2026 Port of Taman Krasnodar Krai OTEKO 20.0 (LPG) 247 13 June 2024, 13 May 2026, 13 June 2026 Vysotsk oil terminal Leningrad Oblast Lukoil 9.0 (2025) 18 April 2026, 6 July 2026 Port Kavkaz Krasnodar Krai Rosmorport 2.5 300 20–21 June 2026 Cherkassy LPDS Bashkortostan Transneft-Ural 2.0 1500 8 July 2026 Taganrog oil terminal Rostov Oblast Kurgannefteprodukt 1.2 170 10 July 2026 Tvernefteprodukt oil depot Tver Oblast Surgutneftegas (6,400 m3) 520 9 July 2026 Yugnefteprodukt oil depot Stavropol Krai Lukoil 0.15 (5,600 m3) 500 9 July 2026, 13 July 2026, 18 July 2026 Noginsk oil depot Moscow Oblast 18 July 2026
Impact