Long-range drones operated by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) have struck Russian oil production platforms in the Caspian Sea for the third time in a week, according to Kyiv Post sources in the SBU.
The latest strike targeted a platform operated by Lukoil-Nizhnevolzhskneft at the Korchagin oil and gas condensate field, the sources said. The attack damaged critical equipment, forcing production at the facility to a halt.
The Korchagin oil and gas condensate field is located in Russia’s sector of the Caspian Sea, roughly 180 kilometers (about 110 miles) off the coast of Russia’s Astrakhan region.
The operation was carried out by long-range drones belonging to the SBU’s Alpha Special Operations Center, the source added.
“The SBU continues operations aimed at cutting Russia’s oil revenues and, as a result, its ability to fund the war against Ukraine,” the source said.
“No Russian facility working for the war effort is safe, regardless of where it is located.”
Earlier, on Dec. 11 and 12, SBU drones struck oil platforms at the Filanovsky and Korchagin fields, both located in Russia’s sector of the Caspian Sea. The Filanovsky field is one of Russia’s largest discovered offshore deposits, with estimated reserves of 129 million tons of oil and 30 billion cubic meters of gas.
According to an informed SBU source, the repeated strikes are part of a broader effort to disrupt Russia’s energy infrastructure and reduce revenue used to finance the war against Ukraine.
Russia has not officially commented on the reported strikes.
A massive barrage of nearly 300 Ukrainian drones struck targets across Russia early Thursday, forcing Moscow’s major airports to halt flights for seven hours and sending emergency crews scrambling to respond to falling debris, Russian officials said.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 36 Ukrainian drones were shot down as they approached the capital over more than seven hours. He gave no information on casualties or damage, saying only that emergency services were working at impact sites.