Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly acknowledged that Ukrainian long-range strikes are creating fuel supply problems inside Russia, as videos obtained by Fox News Digital show long lines, angry motorists and fights erupting at filling stations across several Russian regions.Speaking at a meeting with government ministers and other officials after a wave of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, Putin said on Sunday that strikes on "critical infrastructure" and energy facilities were creating "problems," including shortages affecting motorists, businesses and agricultural producers, but said Russia was dealing with them, according to Reuters. The remarks marked a rare admission from the Kremlin that Ukraine’s long-range campaign is having an impact beyond the battlefield.UKRAINE LAUNCHES WHAT APPEARS TO BE ONE OF ITS LARGEST DRONE ATTACKS AGAINST RUSSIA: REPORTFor Ukraine, the fuel crisis is evidence that its long-range strike campaign is doing more than damaging individual facilities.The attacks are forcing Moscow to manage visible problems at home, exposing a vulnerability in a country whose global power has long rested on its energy sector. Smoke and flames rise over Moscow on June 18, 2026, following a Ukrainian drone attack that hit the Kapotnya oil refinery and other targets in the Russian capital.
(East2West)The shortages have spread across Russia, including occupied Crimea, southern Russia, Siberia and Moscow.Moscow also is weighing emergency measures, including temporarily allowing the production and import of lower-quality fuel, according to a draft government document reported by the Kommersant daily newspaper.Maxim Katz, a Russian opposition figure and former Moscow municipal deputy, told Fox News Digital that the fuel shortages are real and increasingly difficult for Russians to ignore."There are fuel problems in Russia right now — real ones," Katz told Fox News Digital.
"I’m getting a lot of reports, and I can see it too: I...