Drone strikes hurt Putin's economy

He is said to have already thrown the equivalent of almost 200 billion francs (!) into his brutal war in Ukraine. That's what a top US Defense Department official assessed in mid-February on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion.

Putin is smartly avoiding Western sanctions in response to the Ukraine war. It is finding new customers outside of Europe and North America. But now Ukraine can tear a significant hole in its war chest!

Recently, oil refineries in Russia were attacked by drones. The drones were sent at the behest of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin is feeling the consequences firsthand. There has been a significant decline in petrol production.

According to official figures, motor petrol production fell by around 7.4 percent last week compared to the previous week. According to the report of the American media “Newsweek”, the production decreased from 815,300 to 754,600 tons.

Not only will this affect the Russian economy, but there is also a risk of disruption in the domestic market. To prevent this, neighboring Belarus must step into the breach.

The country is supporting Russia in the war in Ukraine.

Russia has significantly increased its imports of gasoline from Belarus. In January these were still at zero. In February they were 590 tonnes, now 3000 tonnes of petrol in the first half of March alone!

A Ukrainian drone attack recently hit a refinery in Kuibyshev, Western Siberia, Russia. Earlier there were attacks on an oil terminal and a large gas export terminal in St. Petersburg.