According to the FT, U.S. officials believe that these drone strikes pose a threat to global oil prices, as evidenced by a 15 percent increase observed in 2024, reaching USD 85 per barrel. This surge in fuel prices coincides with President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, leading to growing frustration within the White House regarding Ukraine’s aggressive actions against Russian infrastructure.

FT sources indicate that Washington has issued multiple warnings to senior Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) and military intelligence (HUR) officials regarding the consequences of these attacks. Both of these services have expanded their drone attack programs on Russian targets on land, water, and air since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Since then, there have been at least 12 attacks on major refineries, with nine occurring this year alone, according to an intelligence source in Kyiv. These strikes have also targeted terminals and oil storage facilities.

The increased frequency of attacks aligns with “growing dissatisfaction in Kyiv with the West’s ambivalent—in its view—approach to limiting Russia’s revenue from the sale of energy resources.”

Former White House energy advisor Bob McNally told FT that “nothing scares a sitting U.S. president more than rising retail fuel prices in an election year.” A representative of the U.S. National Security Council, whose name the newspaper does not provide, clarified that the U.S. neither supports nor facilitates attacks on Russian soil.

The CIA declined to comment on the matter, as did representatives from the SBU and HUR.