Ukrainian army chief: DeepStrike program already causing fuel crisis in Russia

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has revealed that a series of long-range strikes on Russia’s fuel and military infrastructure have significantly disrupted enemy logistics and reduced its operational capabilities on the battlefield.

Speaking to journalists, Syrskyi said that recent operations have targeted key elements of Russia’s war-fighting capacity, with Ukrainian forces increasingly relying on unmanned systems under the “DeepStrike” program to carry out high-impact attacks deep inside Russian territory, Caliber.Az reports per Ukrainian media. 

“This is our strong point, an effective program that has already proven its results. These are units of the Armed Forces' unmanned systems that carry out long-range strikes,” Syrskyi stated.

According to Syrskyi, Ukrainian forces have hit 85 critical targets in under two months, including both direct military and military-industrial infrastructure.

“In just under two months, 85 key targets on enemy territory have been hit. Of these, 33 were military targets: bases, depots, arsenals, airfields, and aircraft on the ground. The remaining 52 were military-industrial targets: factories producing weapons, ammunition, warheads, engines, rocket fuel, drones – everything used against us daily,” he said.

The strikes have had an especially severe impact on fuel facilities and components used in missile production.

“You see the result – a fuel crisis in Russia, which directly affects logistics and the supply of its army. The enemy's military-industrial capabilities have been significantly reduced – and we see this on the battlefield,” Syrskyi noted.

He emphasised that fuel shortages are already affecting the operational posture of Russian forces, including both naval and air assets.

He confirmed that Ukraine intends to scale up DeepStrike capabilities further, expanding the number of specialized units and refining the program’s operational command structure.

“That’s why we continue to expand and scale the units carrying out DeepStrike. At the same time, we are improving their operational system and command structure to achieve maximum effectiveness,” Syrskyi concluded.

Ukraine resumed targeted strikes on Russian refineries and oil infrastructure in the summer of 2025, following Russia’s breach of an informal moratorium on attacks against each other’s energy facilities in June. According to Ukrainian assessments, approximately 20% of Russia’s oil refining capacity has been knocked out, contributing to fuel shortages across multiple regions in Russia.

By Sabina Mammadli