On the streets Moscow there is more and more nervousness: drivers wait in lines for hours fuel, while an acute shortage of gasoline is felt throughout Russia. In a country that is one of the world's largest producers of energy, such scenes seem almost unimaginable — and have been for a long time.
Many drivers, as reported by CNN, claim that they spent the whole day in search of fuel, visiting gas stations throughout the capital. For years, Moscow was isolated from the direct consequences of the war in Ukraine, but that picture is now changing.
In the fourth year of the war, the reality of a conflict that the Kremlin continues to call a "special military operation" is becoming increasingly difficult for Russian citizens to ignore.
Ukrainian strikes on energy infrastructure
Over the past month, Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on Russian territory on an unprecedented scale.
In one night alone last week, Russian authorities said as many as 660 drones were shot down in 12 regions — one of the largest strikes since the invasion began in 2022.
According to reports, the targets are refineries, oil terminals, naval facilities and weapons factories deep in the interior of Russia. The goal of the campaign is, as it is assessed, the weakening of the war economy and the increase of the costs of further war.
And, according to CNN, the effects are already visible.
Independent media in Russia report on increasingly long queues at gas stations, while fuel sales restrictions and emergency measures have been introduced in annexed Crimea.
Photo: Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via APPresident of Russia Vladimir Putin
Putin acknowledges problems
Even the Kremlin can no longer completely ignore the situation.
In an emergency meeting, President Vladimir Putin admitted that the nation's gasoline reserves had been reduced to a worrying level.
"You are aware that problems for drivers and the economy still exist," Putin said, adding that queues were still forming at the pumps.
He also warned that a complete ban on the export of diesel is being considered, as well as the formation of a special working group to solve the fuel supply problem.
Putin also warned that agricultural sectors were also at risk, with the message that Russia must "minimize the impact of terrorist attacks on civilian targets and infrastructure" — rhetoric that represents a departure from earlier claims that the Ukrainian strikes were meaningless.
A turnaround in war strategy
The irony, as CNN notes, lies in the fact that for years Russia has systematically targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure — power plants, substations and heating plants — to break civilian morale.
Now that logic is partially returning to Russian territory.
Western officials estimate that the Ukrainian campaign is already affecting Russia's military and logistical capacities, as well as fuel supplies.
At the G7 summit in France, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, assessed that "the balance is tipping in favor of Ukraine", stating that the year 2026 is politically and militarily different from the previous one.
The reports also state that the intensification of Ukrainian drones contributed to the return of certain territories and the slowing down of Russian advances on the front.
The change of tone is also noticed in Washington. Donald Trump, after earlier pressures on Kiev, said in his latest statements that Russia "should reach an agreement", while he described Volodymyr Zelensky as "brave".
Is Russia about to give in?
However, CNN warns that the conclusion that the Kremlin is ready to make concessions cannot be drawn from the current economic problems.
It is estimated that Vladimir Putin has built a political image of an unyielding leader, which is why any compromise in Ukraine would be extremely difficult to justify within Russia.
With more than a million dead and wounded in the war, according to Western estimates, and with territorial ambitions that include parts of Ukraine that Russia does not fully control, any deal that is not presented as a victory would carry internal political risks.
Even in conditions of fuel shortages and economic pressure, CNN concludes, this does not mean that Russia is showing signs of surrender.
Source: CNN
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