Ukrainian strikes disrupt Russian fuel and electronics supplies

Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure and online marketplace warehouses are disrupting supplies to Russian forces and affecting the battlefield in Ukraine, ERR reported, citing Lieutenant Colonel Marten Suur of the programme Ukraine Studio.

Suur said drone strikes had notably affected the Russian military’s access to fuel and essential electronic components. Wildberries and Ozon are Russian online marketplaces.

“In Russia, fuel deliveries are prioritised for the Russian army. But as the black-market price of fuel has risen five- or sixfold compared with the spring, pressure to steal has emerged at intermediate points in the logistics chain,” Suur said.

As a result, less fuel is reaching frontline units, he said. Fuel had also been used by frontline units as a form of currency to obtain missing supplies by selling or exchanging it.

“That channel has now dried up. In addition, attacks on retail chains and the warehouses of Wildberries and Ozon have made various essential electronic devices less available, including drones, tablets, power banks and generators, all of which are badly needed at the front,” Suur said.

“We cannot speak of a major breakthrough, but we can speak of grit in the gears,” he added.

Ukrainian forces have also successfully attacked Russian space centres, reducing Russia’s ability to carry out long-range strikes and use drones in attacks, Suur said.

The strikes were slowing Russia’s efforts to create a replacement for Starlink, he said, because the system would require the launch of many satellites. Russian launch vehicles are disposable, and Russia does not have a comparable reusable rocket. If its production capacity is reduced, fewer satellites can be launched, delaying the creation of a domestic equivalent.

This also complicates long-range strikes and the use of smaller drones on the frontline that require an internet connection or systems that use it for geolocation, Suur said.

At the same time, Russian airstrikes have caused extensive destruction, particularly in Kyiv. On August 20, Russia carried out one of its largest air attacks on the city so far, killing at least 16 people, according to Suur.

He said the attack combined ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, primarily to penetrate Ukrainian air defences. The targets included industrial facilities and warehouses, while some medical facilities and civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, were also hit.

The heaviest fighting remains in Donetsk region, while Russian forces have also begun applying pressure from the north towards Kharkiv, Suur said. The number of attacks and indirect-fire and drone strikes is increasing, with Russian forces making some gains in places. They are advancing slowly but steadily towards Kostiantynivka, he said.