Long gas lines and shuttered stations are giving Vladimir Putin a fresh political headache. Ukraine's stepped-up drone and missile strikes on Russian refineries have knocked nearly a third of the country's processing capacity offline, forcing bans on exporting diesel and jet fuel. Now, for the first time in decades, the country plans to import fuel. A Kremlin rep said Tuesday that Moscow is in talks with several unnamed countries.
The Wall Street Journal sizes up the situation: "Only faraway refiners, such as those in India, could fill in the enormous gap. Such imports would take weeks to arrive by sea and would further stretch Russia's budget, already consumed by war expenses." Sources tell Reuters seaborne imports from India are underway. More:
- The shortages, once regional and temporary, have gone nationwide, reaching usually insulated Moscow, where some drivers now wait hours for gas. Provinces in Siberia and the North Caucasus report overnight lines and even portable toilets set up along miles of idling vehicles.
- With parliamentary elections due in September, Putin on Sunday publicly acknowledged the problem for the first time. Per the Journal, "The very fact that Putin—rather than lesser officials—spoke up about the fuel issue signals just how challenging it has become."
- By the AP's count, since late March there have been more than 50 reported attacks by Ukraine on oil refineries, depots, terminals, and other Russian oil infrastructure. That's had a real impact. The amount of crude oil Russia processed into fuel in June was down 25% from a year ago to the country's lowest level in more than 20 years.
- RadioFreeEurope reports the shortage is leaving everything from fire trucks to ambulances without fuel. One woman who lives in the country's southeast says the garbage hasn't been collected in a week. "Another month and we'll die from the smell."
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