The Financial Times claims that US support has enabled Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory, targeting vital oil refineries in a covert campaign that has severely disrupted Moscow’s fuel production. Since midsummer, American intelligence has reportedly played a significant role in helping Ukraine execute more than a dozen such attacks, escalating economic pressure on the Kremlin.
According to FT, multiple Ukrainian and US officials familiar with the campaign confirmed that Washington began sharing detailed intelligence with Kyiv earlier this year. The support intensified after a phone call in July between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Following that conversation, four people briefed on the matter said the US began providing data with a new level of specificity — including flight path planning, altitude guidance, and vulnerability assessments — to improve the effectiveness of Ukraine’s long-range drone operations.
Three sources told the FT that the US has been closely involved in the planning process. While a US official claimed that Ukraine independently selects its targets, other sources said Washington has also provided target priorities.
One of them described Ukraine’s drone fleet as “the instrument” for a US effort to undermine Russia’s economic capacity and push President Vladimir Putin toward a negotiated settlement, pushed by Trump.
16 oil refineries hit as Russia forced to import fuel
At least 16 out of Russia’s 38 oil refineries have been struck by Ukrainian forces — some of them repeatedly — significantly reducing Moscow’s refining output. According to Energy Aspects, a research group cited in the article, over 1mn barrels a day of refining capacity have been disrupted. The damage has driven up domestic fuel prices and led Russia to curtail diesel exports. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy stated that Moscow has turned to Belarus and China for petrol imports to compensate for its losses.
Ukraine’s recent strike on the Bashneft-UNPZ refinery in Ufa — located about 1,400 kilometers from the Ukrainian border — marked the third such attack on energy facilities in Bashkortostan within a month.
The Financial Times says that while Washington has publicly avoided acknowledging its direct role, the current level of coordination suggests a clear strategic shift in how the Trump administration is supporting Kyiv. A White House official stated the war “never would have happened” under Trump and that he is “trying to get it stopped”, but declined to comment on operational details.