Putin downplays fuel crisis as Russia pounds Kyiv
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- Putin called fuel shortages from Ukrainian strikes 'not critical' during a televised government meeting, pledging to import gasoline and accelerate air defense production.
- Ukrainian strikes have knocked out roughly one-third of Russia's refining capacity and cut gasoline output 17% to 850,000 barrels a day, with Crimea halting gasoline sales to individuals and motorists elsewhere waiting hours to refuel.
- Since March, there have been 50+ Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries and energy facilities, including a June 18 strike on a top Moscow refinery that set it ablaze and will need repairs through year's end.
- Russia launched a massive 11-hour barrage on Kyiv overnight into Thursday, killing at least 21 people in one of the deadliest strikes since the full-scale invasion began.
- Putin rejected Zelenskyy's offer to meet by challenging him to come to Moscow, and made any ceasefire conditional on Ukraine ceding remaining Donetsk territory and abandoning its NATO bid.
- Western military analysts say Ukrainian mid-range strikes have slowed Russian logistics and ground advances to a stalemate, contradicting Putin's claim that long-range energy strikes have 'absolutely no effect on the situation at the front.'
Why it matters: Putin is publicly betting that one-third of refining capacity going offline and Crimea's gasoline shutdown won't erode domestic support for the war he launched. The 21 dead in Kyiv mark one of the deadliest strikes of the invasion, signaling escalation rather than de-escalation despite Putin's public dismissal of ceasefire overtures.
