politics
Putin Says Russian Fuel Shortage From Ukrainian Strikes Is Not Critical
The Russian president said the shortages were obvious but not critical in a Kremlin-published interview. Crimean authorities had declared an emergency situation two days earlier over fuel and power issues.
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Vladimir Putin acknowledged a fuel shortage in Russia in an interview published by the Kremlin on Sunday, June 28, 2026, after repeated Ukrainian strikes on energy infrastructure. The Guardian reported that Putin said the attacks created obvious problems but described the shortage as not critical.
He identified the main tasks as strengthening anti-aircraft defenses and securing fuel supplies, especially to Crimea.
Crimean authorities declared an emergency situation on Friday, June 26, over fuel shortages and power cuts linked to attacks on logistics and oil facilities. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Hours before the interview, a Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and started a fire at a refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, according to regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Slavyansk refinery there, about 300 km from the frontline, was hit, along with a facility in the Yaroslavl region roughly 700 km from Ukraine’s border. Putin also spoke at the United Russia party congress, where he vowed to ensure security and overcome challenges from the strikes.
He chaired a separate Kremlin meeting on domestic fuel supplies the same day.
A Ukrainian attack last week caused a major fire at a refinery southeast of Moscow.
