Ukraine must act alone to deprive Russia of oil revenue

From UNIAN:

"An effective strategy: no oil, no money 

Petro Oleshchuk, 11/17/25 

One of the latest hot topics in the media space is the horrific "betrayal" from a Bild article by the renowned Julian Röpke about Ukraine's "strategic defeat." To me, this is an example of "quality propaganda." That is, propaganda that conceals the author's desired message behind numerous, entirely legitimate points. While pointing to the legitimate problems facing the Ukrainian army and state, Röpke takes a rather strange tack. He claims that one of the problems is the waste of resources on long-range drones, "the effectiveness of which is overestimated." 

It's especially interesting to read all this against the backdrop of one of Ukraine's most successful operations against Russian oil exports. The SBU and the Security and Defense Forces struck the port of Novorossiysk, Russia's second-largest oil export hub. The results of this operation are already well known: the port virtually ceased operations, 2% of global oil transit capacity was destroyed, and global prices immediately responded. 

Several points are illustrative. Ukrainian drones "took out" a Russian S-400 air defense system, and then Ukrainian missiles "took out" a Russian terminal. In other words, all of this was accomplished using purely Ukrainian resources, beyond the control of any external "partners." 

And what's done once can be done a second time, and a third, and so on. It's clear that the Russians will fix everything. But if after that, another attack occurs, a third time, and so on, it will block oil exports through the Black Sea. Ukraine can do this. And that's exactly what it has demonstrated. 

And this is a story about excess profits, money for war, and so on. And here we come to the Ukrainian, European, and American understandings of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which, as experience shows, differ significantly. 

Was it possible to "remove" Russian refineries and terminals from 2022? Obviously, it would have been possible. But at that time, Ukraine didn't have the resources of its own. Its "Western partners" had them, but they weren't even willing to discuss it. 

For the "partners," the Russian-Ukrainian war was a means of weakening Russia and forcing it into new agreements and concessions at the hands of Ukraine. Ukrainians were to die on the front lines, holding back the Russian invasion, the Russians were to spend more and more resources, and, eventually, all of this had to end somewhere, somehow, after which there would be a new "reset" with the Russians... No one particularly cared what would happen to Ukraine. 

The main thing is not to give Ukraine too much leverage, because, God forbid, the Russians win. And then what? The collapse of the empire, a "geopolitical catastrophe," the fate of the nuclear arsenal... No, better to let them exhaust each other, for which purpose Ukraine will be provided limited aid. Limited in quantity, range, and capabilities. And most importantly, all this should not affect Russian oil exports...

Clearly, a real, rather than ostensible, disruption of Russian oil exports in 2022 would have created conditions for Russia to seek a way out of the war, despite the wishes of the Russian bunker psychopath. But this clearly wasn't part of the "Western partners'" plans. And it still isn't. 

The fact that Ukraine can effectively influence the global oil market clearly infuriates many in the West. For them, this is far more unpleasant than any Russian crimes, terrorist attacks, or genocide. Only a few states, geographically close to the Russian monster, take a different stance. Those further away continue their "cunning games" and manipulations. The goal is to weaken the Russians at the expense of the Ukrainians, and then "make friends" with Russia again on favorable terms, without incurring any risks in the form of fluctuating oil prices. In other words, Ukraine must return to the "rules of the game established by its partners," which, ultimately, should lead to capitulation and a "reset in relations" with the Russians. Indeed, only the lazy aren't talking about this "reset" now.

At the same time, it's clear that Ukraine must play by its own rules, not someone else's. It's simple: the only reason the Russians can continue their active aggression against Ukraine is that they still have a ton of money, mostly from oil, for which they have few export routes."