Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak directly acknowledged that Russia's fuel shortage is caused by Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries, independent outlets The Insider, The Bell and Agentstvo reported, citing his remarks to journalists in the Tver region.
"We must admit that there are problems and there is a shortage, because of which we see queues. The shortage [arose] for obvious reasons — because our oil refineries are partially going out of service for repairs due to strikes," Novak was quoted as saying by state news agency TASS.
Federal authorities had previously avoided such language. In early June, when Crimea already imposed restrictions on gasoline sales, Novak called the situation "stable." In late June, President Vladimir Putin acknowledged a "certain shortage" but described it as "non-critical." In early July, Novak claimed the disruptions were mainly due to "logistical changes in supply" and that "the domestic market is supplied with both gasoline and diesel fuel."
The deputy prime minister did not specify the scale of losses. According to Financial Times estimates, Ukrainian attacks have knocked out between 20% and 40% of Russia's oil refining capacity. In June, refineries processed 4.1 million barrels of oil per day — 35% below design capacity, Boris Dodonov of the Kyiv School of Economics estimated for the publication. Since the start of the year, Ukraine has struck 25 Russian refineries, whose combined capacity exceeds 80% of Russia's total oil refining; 16 plants have been hit multiple times.
To stabilize the market, the government temporarily banned exports of gasoline and diesel and is increasing fuel deliveries to the regions, Novak listed. He partly attributed rising prices at gas stations to resellers who, he said, are exploiting the shortage.