Ukraine escalates deep strikes on Russian Caspian oil amid stalled Trump-brokered peace talks

In a significant escalation of its campaign against Russia’s war-financing energy sector, Ukraine launched drone strikes on two offshore oil rigs in the Caspian Sea on 12 December, marking the second such attack in a week.

A source from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) confirmed that long-range drones targeted the Filanovsky and Korchagin platforms, both operated by Russian oil giant Lukoil.

The Filanovsky field – Russia’s largest in the Caspian, with estimated reserves of 129 million tons of oil and 30 billion cubic meters of gas – had already been hit earlier in the week in Ukraine’s first-ever strike on Caspian energy infrastructure. Preliminary reports indicate critical equipment was damaged on both platforms, suspending production operations.

Reuters could not independently verify the claims, and Lukoil has not commented. The attacks originated from over 700 km away, highlighting Ukraine’s advancing long-range drone capabilities.

Attack on Yaroslavl refinery

Ukraine’s military said on Friday it attacked a major Russian oil refinery in Yaroslavl, north-east of Moscow, and industry sources said the facility had suspended output.

“Units of the Ukrainian Defence Forces have struck the capacity of the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Russia’s Yaroslavl region,” the Ukrainian military’s General Staff wrote on Facebook. “Explosions and a large fire were recorded in the area of the target. The extent of the damage is being determined.”

The industry sources said Ukrainian drones damaged a primary processing unit and a loading rack at the refinery, Russia’s fourth largest. Output had been suspended, they said.

Slavneft-YANOS, located some 250 km north-east of Moscow, has an oil processing capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, or 15 million metric tons per year.

These strikes extend Kyiv’s ongoing efforts to disrupt Russian oil and gas revenues, which fund Moscow’s nearly four-year war. Earlier this year, Ukraine targeted refineries across European Russia; more recently, it hit unregulated tankers in the Black Sea (three in the past two weeks) and even pipelines like the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.

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Timing amid fragile U.S.-led peace negotiations

The attacks come at a delicate moment in U.S.-brokered peace talks initiated by President Donald Trump, who has pushed aggressively for a deal since taking office. Trump has expressed growing frustration with both sides, recently stating he is “sick of meetings for the sake of meetings” and warning he doesn’t want to “waste time.” He has described Russia as holding the “upper hand” and urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “get on the ball and start accepting things,” while criticizing European leaders as “weak.”

Negotiations have involved multiple tracks, including direct U.S.-Russia discussions in Moscow and Abu Dhabi, as well as Ukrainian counterproposals. Key sticking points remain territorial concessions (particularly in Donbas), military caps, and security guarantees. Ukraine has submitted revised plans, including ideas for a demilitarized “free economic zone” in parts of Donbas, but Trump administration officials note significant obstacles, with hopes fading for a pre-Christmas agreement.

From Moscow’s perspective, the lack of rapid concessions reinforces its narrative of battlefield dominance and inevitability of victory – allowing Russia to project itself as the eventual winner without immediate compromise. Putin has accepted some U.S. ideas but rejected others, insisting on addressing “root causes” like NATO expansion.

For Kyiv, these deep strikes serve as a powerful signal of enduring military strength and resolve. By hitting previously untouchable assets far from the front lines, Ukraine demonstrates it can impose sustained economic costs on Russia, bolstering its negotiating leverage and underscoring that it remains far from defeated – despite Trump’s assessments.

With Reuters, edited by g.g.

Caption: The Korgchagin offshore oil field in the Russian zone of the Caspian [EIA]