How Ukraine's 1,000km drone strikes have led to a Russian fuel crisis

Ukraine has sparked a growing fuel crisis in Russia through escalating drone attacks on oil facilities, some more than 1,000km from the border, experts have said.

Intensified refinery attacks in the past few months have provoked soaring prices and fuel shortages in some parts of Russia , with reports of queues at gas stations and rationing.

The sustained strikes – aimed at crippling the Kremlin’s war machine and exploiting deepening vulnerabilities in the Russian economy – are undermining the Kremlin’s narrative of a robust economy, analysts say.

Since August, at least 16 of Russia’s 38 refineries have been struck, some multiple times. According to research group Energy Aspects, the attacks have disrupted more than 1m barrels of Russia’s refining capacity, and triggered a 40 per cent