The U.S. has been helping Ukraine attack oil refineries deep inside Russia for months, the City of London’s Financial Times claimed in an Oct. 12 report. Both the strategy of attacking Russian oil fields and the FT report itself are based on the specious notion that cutting off Moscow’s oil revenues will bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, and that it is he, not the Kyiv regime and its European backers, who is responsible for prolonging the war.
“American intelligence shared with Kyiv has enabled strikes on important Russian energy assets including oil refineries far beyond the frontline, according to multiple Ukrainian and U.S. officials familiar with the campaign,” FT claimed. “The previously unreported support has intensified since midsummer and has been crucial in helping Ukraine carry out attacks that Joe Biden’s White House discouraged. Kyiv’s strikes have driven up energy prices in Russia and prompted Moscow to cut diesel exports and import fuel. The intelligence sharing is the latest sign that Trump has deepened his support for Ukraine as his frustration with Russia has grown.”
FT attributes this shift to a phone call U.S. President Donald Trump had with Kyiv’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in July, when the U.S. President reportedly asked whether Ukraine could strike Moscow if Washington should provide long-range weapons. “Trump signaled his backing for a strategy to ‘make them [Russians] feel the pain’ and compel the Kremlin to negotiate, said the two people briefed on the call. The White House later said Trump was ‘merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing.’
“The U.S. intelligence helps Kyiv shape route planning, altitude, timing and mission decisions, enabling Ukraine’s long-range, one-way attack drones to evade Russian air defences, said the officials familiar with the matter.
“Three people familiar with the operation said Washington was closely involved in all stages of planning. A U.S. official said Ukraine selected the targets for long-range strikes and Washington then provided intelligence on the sites’ vulnerabilities.
“But others involved and briefed on the operations said the U.S. had also set out target priorities for the Ukrainians. One of them described Kyiv’s drone force as the ‘instrument’ for Washington to undermine Russia’s economy and push Putin towards a settlement.”
