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Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged that repeated Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure have led to fuel shortages in the country.
Speaking in an interview published by the Kremlin on Sunday and reported by AFP, Putin said strikes targeting critical infrastructure had disrupted fuel supplies during the more than four-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“As for strikes against critical infrastructure in general, and energy infrastructure in particular, of course these attacks on our infrastructure facilities create problems, that’s obvious,” Putin said.
Putin said Russia’s immediate priorities were strengthening its air defence capabilities and maintaining fuel supplies, particularly to the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move rejected by most countries.
His remarks came days after authorities in Russian-controlled Crimea declared a state of emergency over fuel shortages and power outages caused by Ukrainian attacks on logistics networks and oil facilities.
Earlier on Sunday, while addressing the congress of the ruling United Russia party, Putin pledged that his government would overcome the security challenges posed by Ukraine’s expanding strikes inside Russian territory.
“Yes, we see the problems, we are aware of them and are responding to them, but we will certainly ensure the security of both the country and our citizens, as well as the inviolability of Russia’s borders,” he told party members.
“We will undoubtedly overcome all the challenges facing us today, including terrorist attacks on our territory and infrastructure facilities,” he added.
Ukraine has intensified long-range drone strikes on Russian military and energy infrastructure, describing the attacks as retaliation for Russia’s near-daily bombardment of Ukrainian cities and energy facilities since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Putin’s speech came hours after a Ukrainian drone strike killed one person in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region and ignited a fire at an oil refinery, according to regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the latest attacks were intended to weaken Russia’s war effort.
“The Slavyansk oil refinery in the Krasnodar region was hit about 300 kilometres from the frontline. We also reached a refinery in the Yaroslavl region, approximately 700 kilometres from our border,” Zelensky wrote on X on Sunday.
Last week, another Ukrainian strike triggered a major fire at a refinery southeast of Moscow, sending thick black smoke across parts of the Russian capital’s suburbs.
