Ukraine is setting up a “long-range impact” command within its armed forces, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced, as Kyiv’s campaign against Russian energy and logistics has forced Moscow to ban diesel exports and restrict shipping near the Sea of Azov.

Ukraine’s Long-Range Strikes

For months, Ukrainian attack drones have been targeting key energy infrastructure thousands of kilometers across Russia in what Kyiv casts as long-range sanctions against the primary contributor to Russia’s state budget, backing its war effort.

President Zelenskiy said the new command must focus 100% of available resources on further reducing Russia’s capacity to wage war. Ukraine has reported strikes almost daily, with officials saying it is only fair to bring the war to Russia more than four years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.

On Friday alone, Ukraine struck the Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, one of the largest in Russia’s south, and the Ust-Luga oil refining complex in the Leningrad region, Ukraine’s general staff said. Both are frequent targets.

An oil terminal and an oil depot in the Rostov region came under strikes as well, with further explosions and fire, according to the statement.

Economic Impact

Russia banned diesel exports to ensure enough domestic supply due to a fuel crisis in the occupied Crimea peninsula that has lasted for weeks, and significant shortages in other regions. Several refineries in Russia have had to temporarily suspend operations at some point.

Domestic gasoline output is down to around 65% of capacity as a result of the strikes, according to two industry sources and Reuters calculations.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.