Russian crude oil exports fell by nearly 700,000 barrels per day in the first half of May compared to April, according to tanker tracker Kpler, as Ukrainian drone strikes on energy infrastructure accelerated through the month.
The decline reversed an April gain of nearly 400,000 barrels per day that had briefly lifted volumes before renewed attacks suppressed them again.
Black Sea flows bore the heaviest impact. Exports from Novorossiysk, Russia's primary Black Sea shipping hub, dropped sharply during the period, driving the overall reduction in seaborne crude volumes.
Russian oil product export loadings fell 23 percent in July to 4.7 million tonnes, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, the lowest level on record and less than half the 9.6 million tonnes loaded in July 2025. The port of Tuapse, a major oil product terminal under sustained drone attack since May, loaded almost no oil products during July.
Drone operations have disrupted both export infrastructure and refinery throughput. A brief lull in strikes earlier allowed Russian refiners to boost processing volumes, diverting some crude from export markets toward domestic refining—a partial offset to the export decline.
Seaborne crude exports averaged 3.64 million barrels per day in the four weeks to May 31, up from 3.17 million barrels per day in the four weeks to April 17, when strikes were most intense. Even so, the early May drop and the record low in July product exports signal a durable structural challenge for Russian supply chains.
Falling export revenues are constraining Russia's capacity to fund military operations, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air analysis from May said. Russia has continued to raise refinery throughput where possible, but the consistent targeting of export terminals and processing facilities has produced lasting disruptions to its energy supply chain.
