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- October 20, 202620°
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- October 20, 202620°
Ukrainian attacks deepen Russia's fuel crisis, Putin acknowledges the shortage
Ukrainian drone strikes on energy facilities have increased fuel shortages in Russia. President Putin acknowledged the severity of the situation in a public meeting, confirming that fuel rationing has been implemented.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare admission regarding the fuel shortage caused by Ukrainian attacks on energy infrastructure. Speaking to senior officials on Sunday, Putin stated, "Unfortunately, there are still queues at gas stations," highlighting the gravity of the situation.
Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian energy facilities in recent months. These strikes target Russia's sales of crude oil and refined products, the main source of funding for the war.
Facilities targeted by the attacks
Norsi, the country's fourth-largest oil refinery and second-largest gasoline producer, halted operations last week following a Ukrainian drone attack. The facility near the city of Kstovo, 450 kilometers east of Moscow, is critical for Russia's domestic market.
The Ukrainian army also struck the Orenburg gas processing plant, which has an annual capacity of 45 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Located in the southern Urals, 1,200 kilometers behind the front line, the plant is strategically important for Russia's energy exports.
Last week, two oil facilities in the city of Kerch in Crimea and the Kavkaz port, which transports fuel to the front line, were also targeted with long-range drones. Additionally, the Slavyansk and Yaroslavl refineries were attacked. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that these strikes mean "reducing the resources serving the Russian war machine."
Experts: "Attacking the heart of refineries"
Indra Overland, Head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), told Al Jazeera that Ukraine is specifically targeting fluid catalytic cracking units at refineries. "These are the hearts of refineries and they are difficult, expensive, and time-consuming to replace," he said.
Overland noted that Russia is trying to protect these units with scaffolding and nets, but they are ineffective against Ukraine's most powerful domestic weapon, the FP-5. Developed by Ukrainian defense manufacturer Fire Point, the FP-5 has a range of 3,000 kilometers and can carry a warhead weighing more than one ton.
Margarita Zavadskaya, a senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), told Al Jazeera that Ukraine is targeting the "connective tissue" of Russia's geographically vast energy infrastructure. Zavadskaya emphasized that in the world's largest country by landmass, it has become clear how poorly this critical infrastructure is protected.
Impact on the economy and the public
The crisis is causing unrest among the public. According to Overland, restrictions have been imposed on the sale of gasoline and diesel in most regions of Russia, with some stations closing or queues forming up to 12 hours long. This is disrupting people's ability to get to work, goods transportation, taxis, and agriculture.
In Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, the fuel shortage is expected to negatively impact the July-August harvest period, which requires intensive fuel for tractors, water pumps, and other machinery. Additionally, panic buying and hoarding are deepening the crisis; fuel costs, used in the supply of almost every product such as food, medicine, and construction materials, are fueling inflation.
Markku Kivinen, Director of the Aleksanteri Institute at the University of Helsinki, stated that due to the Russian military's priority, military logistics are being preserved, and civilian needs will be ignored if necessary. Kivinen said this affects the government's legitimacy but does not immediately weaken the war effort.
The backstory of Putin's admission
Experts believe Putin's admission is related to the crisis becoming too visible to deny. Zavadskaya said, "Complete denial would not have been credible and would have further increased the reputational cost of the crisis." However, Zavadskaya noted that Putin is following a typical pattern: "While the president maintains control, lower-level officials are held responsible for failures."
Kivinen suggested that by acknowledging the impact of the attacks, Putin might want to link this tension to his own war narrative: "He could justify his own escalation steps by citing the increasing risks to infrastructure."
What comes next?
Developments may increase public dissatisfaction in Russia. Zavadskaya stated that repeated attacks are undermining the implicit agreement between citizens and the state: "Citizens pay taxes, accept pressure, and tolerate war in exchange for order and basic protection. When refineries burn and fuel becomes scarce, they see that the state cannot fully provide security and stability."
Overland pointed out that the energy crisis could become even more severe. "It is an interesting question why pipelines, which are thousands of kilometers long and impossible to protect, are not being attacked more often," he said, adding: "Perhaps because they are relatively easy to repair, but Ukraine might be saving that for the autumn heating season."
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