06.05.2026
Not relying on the actions of Ukraine’s partners – sanctions and attempts to limit the actions of the so-called shadow fleet of the aggressor country, the defenders of our country “imposed their own sanctions ” on the oil refining industry of the Russian invaders. And they turned out to be more effective than the restrictions of their partners: currently, thanks to the actions of Ukrainian soldiers, Russia has lost up to 30% of its oil exports.
This was told in an exclusive interview with OBOZ.UA by naval expert, Defense Express columnist, and researcher at the National Military History Museum of Ukraine Volodymyr Zablotsky. The expert emphasized that a single strike on a refinery destroys the entire supply chain at once.
Weak city
“Ukraine has introduced its sanctions and, according to various estimates, has already eliminated 20-30% of Russian oil exports. How? And because Ukrainian soldiers are not attacking ships, not chasing each one separately, but blocking this export on land – exactly where oil is extracted and processed, where it is transported. This entire delivery chain is being destroyed,” Volodymyr Zablotsky noted.
The expert emphasized that strikes on the enemy’s refineries and logistics will not stop.
“We found a weak spot, and we won’t leave until we achieve our goal. And we will achieve it. This is much more effective than chasing individual tankers somewhere across the seas and oceans,” said Volodymyr Zablotsky.
Partner assistance
He emphasized another, non-obvious difference in approaches to the task of bleeding the Russian war machine.
“Those who are chasing (the Russian shadow fleet, – OBOZ.UA) are not very eager to do all this. It is expensive and may affect their own interests, because the same France and Germany make money from Russian oil and gas. I’m not talking about Hungary. Take Turkey – supposedly our partner and ally, but it receives gas and oil from Russia,” the expert said.
Volodymyr Zablotsky is convinced that Ukrainian strikes on refineries are “much more effective than chasing the shadow fleet, which is a fleet that is in the shadow of big capital that makes money from it.”
Relative concept
The expert also pointed out the problems that partners face when they really try to limit the capabilities of the Russian shadow fleet. This is the very concept of such a fleet.
“First of all, the very expression ‘shadow fleet’ is self-deception. The vast majority of those vessels are completely legal. For example, those same Greek vessels. Most of the companies that do this are small, with one or two vessels. The rest of the shadow fleet is maybe a dozen or two, which is not a pity. They are caught, renamed, changed owners, changed flags,” Volodymyr Zablotsky noted and, as an example, recalled how a Russian flag was painted on a Turkish ship right on board the vessel.
That is, the concept of “shadow fleet” is very relative, the expert noted.
Ukrainian sanctions
It should be noted that on the night of May 5, the Ukrainian Defense Forces launched a series of strikes on Russian military-economic infrastructure facilities. The Ukrainian military confirmed the destruction of a number of important enterprises, including an oil refinery and a plant that produces components for precision weapons.
However, Ukrainian forces continue to strike directly at the Russian shadow oil fleet, which helps the Kremlin continue to finance the war. As OBOZ.UA reported, our defenders recently hit two vessels in the waters near the entrance to the port of Novorossiysk.