Putin makes rare admission of weakness as Ukraine war creates gas shortage

As the war in Ukraine continues, Russia’s fuel crisis worsens. Citizens nationwide are increasingly frustrated by long gas station lines, and Vladimir Putin has been forced to acknowledge the problem.

Kyiv’s targeted attacks on Putin’s oil refineries are having a huge effect across the country. Despite Russia being one of the world’s largest oil producers, it has struggled to produce enough fuel to meet the country’s demand. Prices, in turn, have risen, with rationing introduced in several regions.

The situation has become so bad that Putin has admitted that Ukraine’s attacks on his oil refineries have caused a “certain shortage” of fuel.

“As for strikes against critical infrastructure in general, and energy infrastructure in particular, of course, these attacks on our infrastructure facilities create problems,” Putin said in an interview published by the Kremlin in June.

“That’s obvious,” he noted, adding, “Right now we’re observing a certain shortage, but it’s not critical.”

However, residents in Moscow might disagree about how critical the shortage is, as they can be seen queuing for fuel in videos posted on social media, with the shortages continuing to spread.

A BBC News report described lines of cars and lorries at almost every gas station, except at those that had run out of fuel entirely.

A Russian woman called Yekaterina told the outlet she was “not happy,” describing the “panic because everybody thinks there will be no oil.”

Another person who spoke to the BBC was called Elmar, who said the situation they faced was “very bad,” with fuel prices climbing and supplies running low.

“You are wasting hours to fill up. At the moment, I am planning a trip to Dagestan, but I don’t know if I should drive there or not because there are so many problems with gas,” he added.

He then acknowledged the political sensitivity of the situation, saying, “In our country, you can’t say what is to blame and who is to blame.”

Valery, another local motorist, said it was ridiculous that there was such a lack of fuel in one of the world’s most oil-rich countries.

“I have no desire to get used to queues. I hope the situation will change soon and won’t continue,” they said.

The fuel crisis first began in Russian-controlled Crimea, triggering a state of emergency and a ban on fuel sales on June 21, but it has now spread across Russia’s 11 time zones.

Oil is a core part of the country’s economy, as oil exports account for 30 percent of Russia’s budget revenues, and a large share of that goes toward funding the war in Ukraine.