'New level' Ukraine strikes cost Russia $7 billion in oil revenue in 2026, Zelensky says
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Russia has lost at least $7 billion since the start of 2026 due to Ukrainian strikes on its oil infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 1.
The estimate comes as Ukraine intensifies long-range attacks on Russia's energy sector, aiming to undermine a key source of funding for Moscow's war effort.
Zelensky said April marked "a new level" in the campaign, pointing to declining Russian oil revenues, as well as the growing scope and effectiveness of Ukrainian strikes.
"It is important that not only is the target itself reached, as defined by the operational objective, but that the downtime of the target is increased or, at the very least, its operations are significantly reduced," the Ukrainian president said.
He attributed the losses to direct hits on facilities, prolonged outages, and disruptions to oil shipments.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure reached a four-month high in April, with at least 21 strikes recorded on refineries, pipelines, and maritime assets.
The strikes reduced Russia's average refinery throughput to 4.69 million barrels per day, the lowest level since December 2009, Bloomberg reported.
Zelensky said Ukraine plans to further expand its long-range strike capabilities.
"We will scale up our long-range systems capabilities. Decisions are being prepared," he added.
