Russia is facing a "petrol crisis" following repeated Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries, Russian media has reported. In Sunday's edition of Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the country's privately-owned analytical newspaper, an article appeared on the economic consequences of the war.
With the headline 'Is there a way out of the petrol crisis if infrastructure isn't protected?', the article states that it is "virtually impossible to pull the country out of a fuel crisis while unprotected infrastructure remains under constant attack".
Long queues at Moscow petrol stations
Russia-based BBC journalist Steve Rosenberg said that he saw 80 vehicles waiting in a line at a petrol station in the south-east of Moscow. According to Russian officials, the queues have been caused by "unscheduled repairs at oil refineries" following Ukrainian long-range drone strikes at oil refineries.
Interviewing people directly impacted by the shortage, one local told Rosenberg: "Last night I went to get petrol at 11pm. By midnight I'd reached the front of the queue. Then they shut the petrol station until 2am."
Another added: "I drove into Moscow yesterday from the province. It was empty petrol stations all the way. Everyone says there is a difficult situation in the country."
Refineries in constant cycle of recovery
Nezavisimaya Gazeta links the issue with Moscow's inability to properly protect the refineries. The paper states: "If an oil refinery suffers serious damage, repairs can take several months. Russian oil refining is therefore operating in a constant cycle of recovery from continuing Ukrainian attacks.
"However, there are signs that officials are beginning to think not only about repairing refineries but also about preventing damage in the first place. It is becoming increasingly difficult for government officials to explain why even basic passive protection has not been installed at key infrastructure sites."
Putin admits attacks cause harm
Last week, Putin said Ukraine's drone attacks against Russian oil refineries and infrastructure are affecting the economy. While saying that statistical data indicate "modest overall" but "positive" economic performance, he admitted that Ukraine's recent attacks on Russia's oil depots and logistics facilities have caused problems.
He said: "Clearly, the pace of economic activity is being affected by a range of factors, including external pressure as well as terrorist attacks on industrial and infrastructure facilities. Naturally, such attacks have not – and could not – result in critical consequences. Yet, they do cause us harm – this is obvious, and we fully recognise and understand it."
But the strikes haven't forced the Kremlin to U-turn. Instead, it's continuing what it still calls the "special military operation", Russia's war on Ukraine.
Andrei Kolesnikov, a columnist for independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta, described this as a "disconnect between people's feelings and the description of reality by Vladimir Putin, the description of his personal reality in his head."
