Strikes on russian oil refineries cause enormous damage to russia, so Ukraine should not stop the attacks — Andrii Horodnytskyi

Ukrainian strikes on russian oil refineries and other energy facilities are causing significant economic damage to russia and are one of the most effective mechanisms for putting pressure on its economy. Doctor of Philosophy and political expert Andrii Horodnytskyi said this in a comment to OstroV.

“Ukraine very often receives requests not to do something, but in fact we comply with a great deal and cooperate very closely with our partners. At the same time, in this case, strikes on russian energy infrastructure are the most effective mechanism right now for crippling russia’s economy. Accordingly, the request to stop such attacks is illogical and certainly not adequate from the standpoint of our partner. For some reason, Trump and other representatives of the U.S. administration do not directly appeal to putin with a demand to stop the attacks on Ukraine, do not threaten him and do not demand that he stop the hostilities. Instead, they constantly approach Ukraine with requests to stop something”, - Horodnytskyi said.

He noted that the russian energy sector has already suffered significant losses that have long-term consequences for the country’s economy.

“Russians really do not want Ukrainians to bomb them because they are suffering enormous irreparable losses. These are already tens of billions of dollars in losses, and strategically — hundreds of billions in losses. More than half of oil and petroleum product exports have been lost, and diesel fuel exports have effectively ceased. If Ukraine continues such attacks, restoring them in the near future will be difficult. In addition, russia is forced to import fuel, overpay for it, and compensate companies that sell it for their losses. All of this means additional losses for the budget and enormous economic losses”, - the expert explained.

In his opinion, problems in the energy sector also directly affect major russian businesses and their ability to finance the defense industry.

“This is the entire private sector, which also has a strategic impact on the military defense industry because it is financed from these funds. Big, oligarchic businesses that are connected to this sector certainly do not want this and understand that such losses should not continue. But putin does not care about this. He does not count the money; he is not interested in your financial report. He believes that the losses russia inflicts on Ukraine are much more important than the losses Ukraine inflicts on russia, and strategically he still counts on a russian victory”, - Horodnytskyi noted.