Ukraine, which has been continuously striking Russian energy facilities, has expanded the range of its drone attacks to southwestern Siberia.

Russia, facing an emergency in crude oil supply due to the strikes on its energy infrastructure, is now caught in a dilemma of having to defend a much wider territory.

According to The Wall Street Journal on July 9 (local time), Ukraine struck the Omsk oil refinery in Siberia, considered one of Russia's largest, with a drone on July 6.

The Omsk refinery is located more than 2,400 km away from Ukraine in a straight line.

Until now, Ukraine's drone attacks had been limited to areas within a 1,600 km radius.

Although the Omsk refinery is Russia's largest, it reportedly had no significant air defense systems in operation, presumably because Russia did not anticipate that drone attacks would reach that far.

However, Ukraine defied these expectations by carrying out what is considered the longest-range strike since the outbreak of the war.

In particular, it even chose a longer, circuitous route to avoid Russia's air defense network.

This suggests that Ukraine's long-range strike capability has expanded significantly.

The Ukrainian defense company FirePoint stated that the maximum range of the Ukrainian drones used in this operation is approximately 3,380 km.

This puts not only the oil and gas industry hubs of Western Siberia but also major military facilities within range.

Russia's major liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals located on the Yamal Peninsula in the Arctic, as well as sensitive facilities in the Russian military industry, are also now within striking distance.

Because of this, analysts suggest that Ukraine's strike on Omsk could be a game-changer in the war.

James Henderson, a researcher at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, predicted, "In some ways, hitting Omsk could be the final straw," adding, "The more Ukraine expands its attack range, the worse the impact on the Russian energy system will be."

In fact, Russia is already facing an energy crisis due to Ukraine's drone offensive.

A significant number of major refineries have been hit, and gasoline production is estimated to have decreased by at least one-fourth.

Long lines have formed at gas stations, and bans on the export of aviation fuel and diesel have been imposed.

Experts point out that if Ukrainian strikes continue and Russia's fuel crisis deepens further than it is now, it could lead to a chain reaction of ripple effects.

Russian energy expert Mikhail Krutikhin noted, "Fuel shortages will lead to shortages of military supplies and disrupt the transportation of consumer goods, including food."

Vladimir Milov, an exiled politician who served as Russia's deputy energy minister, also said, "The fuel crisis is putting significant pressure on the budget, increasing the deficit, and this may force Russia to consider ending the war."

The vast territory that needs to be defended is also acting as a weakness for Russia.

Mykola Bielieskov of the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Ukraine pointed out, "Russia's territory is much larger than ours, and from our perspective as the attacker, this geographical condition is an advantage," adding, "As the target of the attacks, it is very difficult to defend because they cannot predict where the next strike will be."

However, President Vladimir Putin is still publicly dismissing Ukraine's attacks as mere psychological warfare.

At a cabinet meeting on July 8, he emphasized, "It is obvious that the enemy wants to strike the economy, but their main goal is to create tension in society," adding, "We all know that this is an impossible task. The resilience of the Russian energy system is very strong and is among the best in the world."