In the Feodosia region of Crimea, a giant oil depot storing 250,000 tons of fuel ignited a raging fire in the night sky, and the fire was clearly visible dozens of kilometers away. This is the second time that the oil depot has been attacked in a short time.
In October this year, an explosion in the British Financial Times sparked international shock: The United States has been providing Ukraine with "puppy-level" intelligence support for months to help the Ukrainian army precisely strike Russian energy facilities.
The direct result of this strategy is the attack on at least 16 Russian oil tanks and the loss of up to 1 million barrels per day of refining capacity, equivalent to more than 10 percent of Russia’s total refining capacity, a seemingly simple energy facility attack behind the White House’s strategic intention to push the Kremlin back to the negotiating table.
The United States provides intelligence to the Ukrainian military
According to several informed sources, the US side not only provided target information, but also hand in hand to teach the Ukrainian military how to effectively evade the Russian air defense system.
“It’s like the U.S. provided Ukraine with a ‘attack offensive’ organized from A to Z.”
Under the precise guidance of the United States, the Ukrainian army's strike capabilities have improved by leaps and bounds, and even attacked an oil refinery 1,400 kilometers away.
This ultra-long-range strike marks a significant expansion of the Ukrainian military's operational radius and also demonstrates the drone operational capabilities that have been significantly improved with the support of the United States.
Even more surprisingly, the Ukrainian army launched a “back-kill” on the Crimean Feudal oil tank — a re-attack shortly after the first assault, while the Russian rescued, which led to the explosion of 12 oil tanks, causing a fierce fire.
This tactical flexibility makes the Russian military defense system exhausted.
The ongoing attacks have severely damaged Russian energy facilities, with up to 250,000 tons of fuel tanks completely burned after two waves of violent raids in the Crimean oil tank.
More seriously, three months ago, Ukraine launched intense strikes on 37 large refineries in Russia, 32 of which were destroyed, and the remaining five failed to survive.
For a country like Russia that relies on energy exports, losing millions of barrels of oil a day is not just an economic loss, but a weakening of the potential for war.
Worse yet, the locals could not see the battle on the front, but could see the fires of refineries rising, which lowered people’s confidence in the war.
Forcing Russia to negotiate
Why is the Trump administration so deeply involved in this energy facility attack war? The answer lies in breaking the deadlock in negotiations.
Information sources revealed that Trump was “disappointed” with Putin because of the impasse in the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and that this disappointment turned to supporting “a deeper strike” on Russia.
Two U.S. officials revealed that Trump's stance on Ukraine changed after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July this year. He expressed his support for a strategy that "makes Russians feel painful" and can "force the Kremlin to negotiate".
Of course, the Russian army could not be passively beaten. Militarily, the Russian army adopted a "tit for tat" retaliatory strategy. On October 10, the Russian army launched 465 drones. These attacks paralyzed about 60% of Ukraine's domestic natural gas production.
Large-scale emergency power outages occurred in many cities and regions such as Kiev and Kharkiv, and even water supply and heating were affected.
This is how you come to me in the war, and I am sure that Zelensky and his staff also understand it.
Trump said he was considering providing Ukraine with a "tactical ax", a name for a missile that is powerful and can break through the Russian air defense system directly to hit Moscow and other places that Russia has been trying to prevent the United States from doing so.
However, Kremlin spokesman Peskov immediately issued a warning: "Tomahawk" missiles cannot change the battlefield situation on the front line, and once the Tomahawk is used to attack Russia, Russia must consider the possibility that certain models may carry nuclear warheads.
The warning touched the most sensitive nerves of the conflict and forced the United States to be more cautious when providing long-range offensive weapons to avoid direct involvement in a positive military conflict with Russia.
Although the battlefield is full of smoke, the efforts of diplomatic channels have never stopped.
Talks between the two countries
On August 15, the presidents of Russia and the United States held talks in Alaska to discuss ways to mediate the conflict in Ukraine.
U.S. support for attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities contrasts with peaceful efforts by diplomatic channels, a “double-track parallel” strategy that reflects the contradictory psychology of the Trump administration both wanting to avoid direct involvement in the conflict and wanting to change the situation on the battlefield.
Although Ukraine, with the support of the United States, has dealt a significant blow to Russian energy facilities, the overall situation on the ground battlefield has not fundamentally changed.
In the direction of Red Army City, the Russian army is not far from cutting down the key highway entrance hub of Red Army City. Once this traffic lifeline is shaken, the supply and withdrawal route for the Ukrainian army inside the city will become extremely difficult.
In the direction of Konstantinovka, the war situation was equally intense. It has been that part of the Ukrainian army, which remained in the southern area of the reservoir, has been surrounded by the Russian army and suffered serious injuries.
Ukrainian sources acknowledged that Russian assault groups had already appeared near the town of Konstantinovka, indicating that Russian troops were cleaning out the outskirts of the city and preparing for the next assault.
Long-range strikes can harass the rear and destroy economic potential, but it is difficult to directly regain lost territory or disintegrate the other side's already established battlefield advantage.
The U.S. seems to be determined to continue helping Ukraine fight Russian energy facilities, with the Trump administration increasing pressure on Ukraine through intelligence support andining contacts through diplomatic channels.
The core purpose of this dual-track strategy is to minimize Russia's war potential and gain more favorable bargaining chips for negotiations without directly getting involved in the conflict.
The U.S. also said to its NATO partners, “Brothers, follow along!” and encouraged NATO allies to increase their support for Ukraine.
The U.S. provides “a dragon service” of “choosing a target to specifically how to fight” that surfacingly enhances Ukraine’s fighting capabilities, but actually pushes the conflict in a more unpredictable direction.
In the face of this situation, Russia has continued to pressure on the frontline to seek tangible geopolitical interests; on the other hand, it has responded calmly to the West’s “weapons intimidation” and clearly drawn a red line that could lead to a change in the nature of the conflict.
This attack and defense around energy facilities has become a test for both sides’ endurance and wisdom.
Reference source:
British media: Ukraine continues to strike Russian energy facilities and has received intelligence support from the U.S.-2025-10-12 Observer Network
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