Zelenskyy: Russian oil companies forced to shut down wells

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukrainian long-range strikes have reduced Russia's oil refining capacity by 10%.

Source: Zelenskyy in his evening address on 18 May

Quote: "Today, there was an intelligence report on Russian losses caused by our sanctions [strikes – ed.]. In just recent months, Russia's oil refining has dropped by 10%. It is also important to note that Russian oil companies are being forced to shut down their oil wells. This is even more significant. Given the nature of Russian oil production, this is what hurts them most – apart, of course, from losing money."

Details: Zelenskyy added that Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin "built a war chest – but certainly not enough to fight indefinitely".

Quote: "Every one of our responses, every joint step of pressure together with our partners, pushes Russia closer to ending its war. Already now, a significant number of their regions are in a state of bankruptcy, and Putin is leading Russia toward bankruptcy. And the various schemes they come up with to make money will not help them. We see these Russian schemes. We are documenting them. We will break them."

Background: Since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has carried out more than 20 strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, targeting refineries, export terminals and pipelines, causing Russia losses exceeding US$7 billion.

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