Putin admits fuel shortages as Ukraine intensifies drone strikes on Russian energy and military targets
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11 months · 8 summary articles
Putin admits fuel shortages as Ukraine intensifies strikes on Russian energy and military targets
Vladimir Putin has publicly acknowledged for the first time that Ukraine’s drone campaign has caused “certain shortages” of fuel across Russia, as Kyiv escalated precision strikes on refineries, command posts and logistics hubs over the weekend. The Russian president’s rare admission, reported on Monday, follows a weekend of sustained Ukrainian attacks that have crippled oil infrastructure, triggered panic at petrol stations and forced Moscow to seek rare fuel imports from abroad.
On Sunday, Ukrainian forces struck a road bridge near Azovske in occupied Zaporizhzhia oblast, a key Russian supply route, while also targeting enemy UAV control posts in Myrne, Luhove and Skelky, the General Staff of Ukraine said . Separate Ukrainian strikes hit a satellite communications hub near Moscow, which President Volodymyr Zelensky said was being used to coordinate Russian forces in Ukraine .
Putin’s acknowledgment came as queues lengthened at petrol stations across Russia and social media erupted with anger over fuel shortages. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed on Tuesday that Moscow is negotiating with several countries to import fuel for the first time since the 1990s, in an attempt to stabilise the domestic market . The admissions mark a rare reversal for a leader who has long downplayed the impact of Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure.
Ukraine’s military has also intensified its drone campaign inside Russia, with authorities reporting 419 drones shot down across the country on Monday alone, including in Moscow and Crimea . At least three civilians, including a six-month-old infant, were killed in the attacks, according to local reports .
The escalation follows a weekend of Ukrainian strikes that set fire to a major oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai and triggered a state of emergency in occupied Crimea after precision attacks on a Volgograd weapons plant . Analysts say the sustained campaign has exposed vulnerabilities in Russia’s air defences and fuel supply chains, forcing Putin to confront public discontent over the war’s economic toll.
Public opinion in Russia appears to be shifting, with a Kyiv-based institute reporting that 81% of Russians now support ending the war as soon as possible, the highest share in four years . Meanwhile, Ukraine has secured a €3.9 billion EU loan to bolster its drone procurement and defence capabilities, underscoring the continent’s growing investment in Kyiv’s war effort .
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