I find it really "eye opening" to watch a "small" country like Ukraine, just demolish a huge behemoth almost all on their own. Yes they got support from USA, that helped them survive a lot of the first invasion wave, where russia wasn't prepared for the resistance they were getting do to bad serveilance reportings, of the russian KGP. But after a lot of the help they are getting from their allies, they have been innovating and forcing themselves out of this.

This is the modern version of David and Goliath. Ukraine has revolutionized modern warfare completely.

Ukraine is what the Allies have been in World War 2-- a really fucking competent leadership. It doesn't matter if the opponent has a bigger stick if he's too stupid to use it and keep missing the swings. That's what Russia is. So much for "corrupt Ukraine". No country is void of corruption, but if Ukraine is as corrupt as Russian propaganda insists they are, they wouldn't have been able to survive this long and embarrass Russia. Speaking of which, it's funny I don't see much Russian bots try to smear Ukraine anymore (maybe Putin is instead focusing on propagandising the Russians). Since Kursk and the deep drone strike campaigns in Russia, it is clear that Russia is losing the propaganda war.

Maybe Ukraine couldn't retake the areas occupied by Russia, but they could deliver a Pyrrhic blow to Kremlin. Russian international prestige already diminished as soon as they invaded.

Headline seems true. To quote ISW's Oct 1 report:

Gasoline shortages continue in Russia and occupied Ukraine due to repeated Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. Russian energy-focused outlet Seala told Russian state outlet RBK on September 30 that Russian oil refineries are temporarily facing a 38 percent decrease (roughly 338,000 tons per day) in their primary oil refining capacity as of September 28 due to Ukrainian drone strikes, which have struck more than two dozen major oil refineries in Russia since early August 2025.[20] Seala estimated that Russia’s total available capacity for gasoline and diesel fuel production fell by 6 percent in August 2025 and by another 18 percent in September 2025, reaching historic lows. Seala estimated that Ukrainian drone strikes caused approximately 70 percent of downtime in gasoline production as the strikes disabled approximately a quarter of Russia’s oil refining capacity (roughly 236,000 tons per day) by the end of September 2025, and that four more Russian refineries, including two of the top five largest Russian oil refineries, halted production after drone strikes. Independent Russian outlet the Moscow Times reported that the fuel crisis has impacted the Far East and occupied Crimea the hardest, where Russian authorities have banned sales of more than 30 liters of gasoline per customer since the beginning of the week (roughly September 28).[21] Crimean occupation head Sergey Aksyonov announced on October 1 a limit of 20 liters of gasoline per customer in an effort to mitigate the gasoline shortage.[22] Russian economist Vladislav Inozemtsev noted that Russian oil companies have to wait months for repairs to damaged refineries, as Western sanctions have blocked the sale of equipment and replacement parts on which Russia relies and cannot easily replace with Chinese equivalents. Russian business outlet Kommersant reported that Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak outlined to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on September 24 several possible means of alleviating Russia’s desperation for gas, including a zero-rate five percent import customs duty on gasoline imported from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), South Korea, and Singapore through certain checkpoints in the Far East.[23] Novak also reportedly proposed a rule that Russia will only authorize certain companies to supply fuel, which would allow Russia to export approximately 150,000 tons of gasoline from Siberian refineries westward per month to maintain supply balances in central Russia. Novak also reportedly proposed increasing gasoline imports from Belarus from 45,000 tons to 300,000 tons per month. RBK reported that Belarus began exporting gasoline to Russia in September 2025 after a pause that began in Fall 2024.[24]

Russia’s problems with oil refinery capabilities will likely persist amidst more damage to Russian oil refineries. Russian authorities and sources reported on October 1 that there was a large fire at the Yaroslavl Oil Refinery, located 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.[25] Yaroslavl Oblast Governor Mikhail Evraev claimed on October 1 that the incident is unrelated to a drone attack, and neither Ukrainian nor Russian sources have attributed responsibility for the fire.[26] Rostov Oblast Governor Yuriy Slyusar claimed that a Ukrainian drone strike overnight caused a fire at an industrial facility in Verkhnedonsky Raion, Rostov Oblast, and NASA FIRMS data indicates that there was a fire at the Sukhodolnaya Oil Pumping Station in Rostov Oblast.[27]

Noice