Putin Admits Fuel Shortages In Russia As Ukraine Keeps Hitting Key Infrastructure

Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted there are fuel shortages in the country as Ukraine keeps hitting key energy infrastructure with increased drone strikes.

Speaking to a Russian state TV reporter, Putin said there is a “certain deficit” of fuel as a result of Kyiv’s offensive and vowed to protect the sites.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in turn, said the country’s “‘long-range sanctions’ reached two oil refineries in Russia,” adding that each one of them “means a reduction in the resources that fuel the Russian war machine, and another step toward peace.” One of them took place in Slavyansk-na-Kubani, a town in Russia’s Krasnodar region, east of Crimea. The other is located in the Yaroslavl region.

Strikes have been increasingly effective, particularly in the occupied Crimea. Authorities there last week declared a state of emergency to deal with the situation.

Peninsula head Sergei Aksyonov said on Telegram that the decision will allow authorities to make it easier to make decisions that stabilize the region. Authorities didn’t elaborate on what the measure will entail.

Crimea recently halted gas sales for civilians indefinitely, with Aksyonov saying they are needed to “ensure the functioning and security of the Republic of Crimea.”

The city of Sevastopol last Monday announced “enforced temporary measures” to address the situation, including the end of public transport after 10 p.m. and the closure of large shops and cafes two hours earlier. Street lights will also be turned off during parts of the day.

In another passage of the interview, Putin said Ukrainian attacks were seeking to “cause a split in Russian society and force Russia to halt, even if only briefly, the advance of our troops along the line of contact, and create conditions for launching a negotiation process on terms advantageous to our adversary.”

“Strikes on our infrastructure, wherever they are directed, have absolutely no effect on the situation at the front, on the line of contact,” he added.

Putin went on to say that Ukraine proposed to halt its strikes deep inside the country, claiming that Russia’s attacks are more powerful. Kyiv, he added, also offered to limit fighting to four regions captured but not annexed by Moscow: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. He said he rejected the proposal as it would allow Ukraine to relocate troops to those areas.