Ukraine's oil strikes trigger fuel rationing in Russia
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- Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure triggered fuel rationing in 53 Russian regions and occupied Ukraine, reaching Moscow and Saint Petersburg where chains like Tatneft limited customers to 20 litres of petrol and 40 litres of diesel per sale.
- Ukraine struck the Moscow Oil Refinery twice in one week, causing 'oil rain' across the capital, shutting down six airports, and forcing the refinery—which supplies over 38% of the Moscow region's fuel—to halt operations after fires damaged primary and secondary processing units.
- Ukraine garnered €4bn ($4.6bn) in new military aid commitments from allies for anti-ballistic interceptors, long-range artillery, and unmanned systems, and signed a separate agreement with Germany to develop a European anti-ballistic interceptor missile.
- The EU released €6bn ($6.9bn) in military aid from its European Peace Facility and opened the first of six negotiation clusters for Ukraine's membership, with Zelenskyy urging Brussels to open all remaining clusters simultaneously.
- Putin made a rare concession that Ukrainian strikes are 'damaging the Russian economy,' even as Russian defense spending rose 30% in Q1 year-on-year and is on track to reach 10% of GDP, consuming two-thirds of budget revenues.
- Russia's oil production fell to 8.74 million bpd in May from 8.96 million in April—roughly 100,000 barrels below target—prompting Russia to increase refined fuel imports from Asia and allow refineries to circulate higher-sulphur petrol.
- The US Treasury's sanctions waiver on Russian oil expired June 17 and was not renewed, a development the article says could further pressure Russia's finances after the US-Iran ceasefire.
Why it matters: Putin's public admission that Ukrainian strikes are damaging Russia's economy marks a rare break from his 'everything is recovering' line, and the fiscal math backs it up: defense spending is on track to hit 10% of GDP while consuming two-thirds of all budget revenue—making the expired US sanctions waiver on Russian oil a particularly unwelcome timing for the Kremlin.
