Ukraine Hit Russian Energy Sites with US Help
Trump administration has supported Kyiv’s operations since summer in co-ordinated push to weaken Moscow
U.S. Intelligence Aiding Ukraine’s Deep Strikes on Russian Energy Infrastructure
The United States has for months been assisting Ukraine in carrying out long-range strikes on Russian energy facilities — part of what officials describe as a coordinated effort to weaken Vladimir Putin’s wartime economy and push Moscow toward negotiations.
According to multiple Ukrainian and U.S. officials familiar with the campaign, American intelligence shared with Kyiv has enabled precision attacks on key Russian energy assets, including oil refineries located far from the frontlines. This support, which has intensified since mid-summer, has been central to Ukraine’s ability to conduct operations that the previous administration had discouraged. The strikes have raised fuel prices within Russia and forced Moscow to restrict diesel exports while importing fuel from abroad.
Officials say the expanded intelligence-sharing marks a deepening of President Trump’s support for Ukraine, reflecting his growing frustration with Russia’s actions.
The shift reportedly followed a July phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the conversation, Trump asked whether Ukraine could target Moscow if provided with long-range weapons. According to two individuals briefed on the call, Trump voiced support for a strategy to “make them [the Russians] feel the pain” and compel the Kremlin to negotiate. The White House later clarified that Trump was “asking a question, not calling for more violence.”
American intelligence has reportedly guided Ukraine’s route planning, altitude, and timing for missions — improving the ability of Kyiv’s long-range drones to evade Russian air defenses. Several sources familiar with the operations say Washington has been involved in every stage of planning. One U.S. official said Ukraine selects the targets, while the U.S. provides intelligence on site vulnerabilities. Others indicated that Washington has also suggested target priorities, with one describing Ukraine’s drone program as an “instrument” of U.S. strategy to pressure Russia economically.
President Trump’s evolving stance stems in part from his disappointment with Putin following their meeting at a summit in Alaska earlier this year, which yielded little tangible progress. This disillusionment, officials say, was a key factor behind his decision to strengthen support for Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign.
The United States has long shared battlefield intelligence with Kyiv to aid in targeting Russian military assets in occupied Ukrainian territory. However, the Trump administration’s more direct role in enabling attacks inside Russia itself represents a significant shift. It stands in contrast to earlier in Trump’s second term, when he briefly suspended intelligence sharing and military aid to push Kyiv toward peace talks.
While Zelenskyy declined to discuss U.S. intelligence support during a recent press briefing in Kyiv, he acknowledged ongoing cooperation with U.S. agencies “primarily to defend ourselves,” referencing the Patriot, NASAMS, and IRIS-T air defense systems supplied by Western partners. He credited Ukraine’s growing domestic drone industry and technological improvements for the success of recent long-range attacks.
Ukraine’s SBU security service and the Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces have led most of the deep strikes, deploying domestically built Fire Point and Liutyi long-range drones — sometimes in swarms of up to 300. These have been complemented by Ukrainian-made Neptune and Flamingo missiles.
Last weekend, the SBU announced that its elite Alpha unit struck the Bashneft-UNPZ oil refinery in Ufa — one of Russia’s largest — located about 1,400 kilometers from Ukraine. The refinery supplies critical fuel and lubricants to the Russian military. It was the third major strike on energy sites in the Bashkortostan region within a month.
The SBU said its long-range drone operations are designed to destroy “the enemy’s military potential — including its economic capabilities” and vowed to expand such missions further inside Russia.
A White House official said the ongoing war “never would have happened” if Trump had been in office earlier, adding that the president “is working to bring it to an end.”
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledged that the U.S. and NATO “regularly provide intelligence” to Ukraine, including for strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.
President Trump has yet to decide whether to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles such as Tomahawks. On Monday, he said he was still “evaluating how they would be used.” Zelenskyy confirmed that the Tomahawk option is under discussion, saying it “could strengthen Ukraine and sober the Russians up a bit.”
Officials say that shortly after the July call, the flow of U.S. intelligence to Kyiv became significantly more detailed, enabling Ukraine to better map Russian air defenses and plot efficient strike routes. The pace of Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil and gas facilities surged in August and September, disrupting more than one million barrels per day of refining capacity and forcing Moscow to import fuel.
Zelenskyy said Russia has been forced to buy petrol from Belarus and China while restricting exports. He estimated that Ukraine’s campaign has knocked out roughly 20 percent of Russia’s fuel production capacity — a major blow to the Kremlin’s war machine.
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