Ukrainian drone strikes force Russia to seek fuel imports as shortages spread from Moscow to Siberia

Sustained drone campaign

Ukraine has escalated long‑range drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure in recent months, targeting refineries, oil storage sites and gas processing plants far beyond the front lines. On the weekend of 27‑28 June, strikes hit the Yaroslavl and Krasnodar refineries, roughly 300 and 700 kilometres from the fighting. The Norsi refinery near Kstovo (Nizhny Novgorod region), Russia’s fourth‑largest, suspended operations last week after a drone attack. The Orenburg gas processing plant, with an annual capacity of 45 billion cubic metres, was also struck. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X:

“We continue our operations that weaken Russia’s ability to wage this war.”

Refinery outages and rationing

The cumulative damage has slashed daily gasoline production by roughly a quarter compared with the same period last year, according to industry insiders. The Moscow‑region’s main refinery on the capital’s southern edge was hit twice, once in mid‑June and again later, forcing a shutdown that an informed source told Reuters will last at least six months. With supplies strained, authorities on the annexed Crimean Peninsula declared a state of emergency on Friday 26 June and stopped selling gasoline to private individuals. Across the country, stations have imposed 20‑litre limits, banned canister filling and, in many regions, rationed fuel outright. Even in Moscow and St. Petersburg some stations are closed, while private vendors have raised prices more than 10 percent, the Moscow fuel association reported.

Kremlin’s scramble

President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the difficulties during a televised meeting on Sunday 28 June.

“You are well aware that problems for drivers and for businesses persist. Unfortunately, there are still queues at petrol stations too.”

He conceded that the attacks were creating shortages but described the situation as “not critical.” The same day he convened a crisis session with energy executives and said July production should exceed June levels. Behind the scenes, the government is examining several emergency steps: banning diesel exports, temporarily allowing fuel grades as low as the Euro‑2 standard (banned since 2013 because it can damage modern engines), and, for the first time, negotiating gasoline imports with other countries. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on 30 June that talks were underway, telling the state news agency Tass that imports could proceed “if agreements at acceptable prices are reached.” Deputy prime minister Alexander Novak had earlier listed imports as a possible measure.

Public frustration and echoes of the 1990s

Social media channels are filling with videos of cars queuing for hours, and Russian search engines have recorded a sharp rise in queries for “how to siphon gasoline.” The newspaper Kommersant reported that taxi drivers in several regions are staying home because they cannot obtain enough fuel, while theft of fuel from parked vehicles is increasingly documented. One Instagram user summed up the mood with a reference to the chaotic post‑Soviet era: “The old man brought the 90s back.” The disruption is visible even in central Moscow, where a recent photo report by the independent outlet Bereg captured gridlock outside closed filling stations, a sight that is normally prohibited from being photographed under Russia’s classification of fuel stations as “special installations.”