Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the attacks on Russian energy as an effort by Ukraine to distract attention from its losses on the battlefield, although analysts say the advance of Russian forces has been stymied in recent months.
The Russian leader appears to believe his government can keep the fuel crisis from eroding his authority and support for the war he launched more than four years ago.
There have been more than 50 reported Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries and other energy facilities in Russia and occupied Crimea since March, a barrage Ukrainian leaders have said is intended to pressure Moscow to end the war. At the very least, the attacks have brought the war home even more poignantly for millions of Russians, shattering Putin’s narrative of the conflict as something that doesn’t affect the lives of ordinary people in his country.
Putin is, however, downplaying the impact of Ukrainian strikes. While Putin said Ukraine’s long-range strikes on Russian oil facilities “have absolutely no effect on the situation at the front”, Western military analysts feel otherwise.
The Russian president had chaired a meeting of government officials last weekend to discuss the fuel shortages. In televised statements, he acknowledged the country was going through a “difficult period”. He pledged to accelerate repairs of energy facilities and said Russia would consider importing gasoline to help make up for what he described as “temporary” shortages. He also said Russia’s arms industry will boost production of air defence systems to fend off future Ukrainian attacks.
The facts, on the other hand, are contrary to Putin’s claims. An estimated one-third of Russia’s refining capacity has been cut off, according to Chris Weafer, CEO of the consultancy Macro-Advisory. The attacks have inflicted lasting damage that will be costly to fix. Despite significant air defences protecting Russia’s capital, a top refinery in Moscow has been hit twice. The second strike on June 18 set it ablaze, damaging key equipment that will reportedly take until the end of the year to repair.
With gasoline production in Russia reduced by roughly 17 per cent to 850,000 barrels a day, according to government statistics, rationing has been introduced in many regions, and motorists have had to wait in line for hours to refuel.
Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has faced the worst fuel shortages. Gasoline sales to individuals have been periodically halted there altogether.
Despite the ominous signs, Putin portrayed the Ukrainian strikes as an attempt to divide Russian society, halt Moscow’s offensive and try to force the Kremlin into negotiations on “terms advantageous to our adversary”. “We will not give them that chance,” he said.
Also read: 27 dead, 70 injured in Kyiv as Russia-Ukraine war intensifies
Follow us
