The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, admitted this Sunday that Russia is experiencing fuel supply problems and announced the implementation of several measures to address them. The situation is attributed to Ukrainian drone attacks against Russian oil infrastructure in response to Moscow's military offensive.
"There are queues at gas stations and the types of gasoline needed are not always available," Putin stated during a meeting of the Council of Ministers. The Russian leader also revealed that "the possibility of a total ban on diesel exports is being studied," according to Russian media reports.
In this way, Putin acknowledged that "attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure are causing problems." "It is evident," he pointed out. "There is a shortage as a consequence of the attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Risa's energy infrastructure, but the situation is not critical," he argued.
At the same time, he stressed that all affected facilities "are being repaired quite quickly and everything is working with a wide margin of safety." He guaranteed that "the fuel needs of Crimea will be met. Right now there are several days of supply," before announcing an increase in shipments "by land and sea."
Putin detailed that "the largest refineries are operating at maximum capacity" and that small and medium-sized companies in the sector are also being used. "Routine maintenance periods have been reduced and scheduled maintenance has been postponed. By July, it is estimated that the production of primary fuels will exceed that of June," the Kremlin chief pointed out.
He also indicated that strategic fuel reserves have already been allocated to the domestic market, although, despite this, gasoline inventories in Russia stand at 1.7 million tons, a figure very similar to that recorded on the same date in 2025. "There is a slight decrease of only 4%," Putin noted.
"We are obviously aware of the problems that agricultural producers and farms have during the summer. Everything possible is being done to ensure that agricultural companies have the planned fuel supply because the harvest depends on it," he argued.
NEGOTIATIONS WITH UKRAINE
Putin has linked these attacks to the course of negotiations with Ukraine. "We are not going to give the Ukrainian Armed Forces the opportunity to impose their own negotiation terms," he warned. Furthermore, he assured that "Kyiv will pay for its crimes in the Kursk region with the loss of the territories necessary for a security zone."
The Russian president highlighted that Kyiv has already suggested limiting military operations to four regions: Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, although this "would allow them to relocate units from other fronts there" and would represent "a lifeline for Kyiv in the face of its catastrophic personnel shortage." "Saving the Kyiv regime is not in our plans," he stated before declaring the "total liberation of Donbas and Novorossiya" as the "main objective."
According to this information, the proposal would have been presented to Moscow during the Anchorage contacts, in the meeting between Putin and the US president, Donald Trump. In exchange, Ukraine would commit not to attack Russian targets far from its border, and Russia, for its part, would suspend the use of long-range projectiles.
Putin believes that the objective of this initiative would be to curb Russian attacks that are "much more powerful, precise, and frankly, destructive, causing truly serious damage."
On this same day, Putin intervened in the 23rd Congress of the United Russia party, before the legislative elections scheduled for September 20. The leader announced that in the September lists "there will be many young people," members of "a generation that will define the future."
"I want to take this opportunity to greet our younger colleagues on Youth Day, which was celebrated yesterday. I am convinced that they will do admirably in the election campaign and in their future work," he added.