"We Were Wrong": Putin Urged The Public To Prepare For A Prolonged Gasoline Shortage
- 3.09.2026, 14:33
Russian drivers should forget about a comfortable life.
Russian citizens should “be prepared” for ongoing gasoline shortages due to Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries, according to President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum on Thursday, Putin acknowledged that the authorities were unprepared for a series of attacks on energy infrastructure, which led to a precipitous drop in petroleum product output and triggered the worst fuel crisis in modern history, reports The Moscow Times.
“(We) assumed that these were purely civilian facilities, and they cannot be targets of any kind of attack, even in the context of an armed conflict. But in this regard, we were mistaken; our adversary, unfortunately, thinks otherwise,” Putin said.
When asked by the moderator whether Russians should get used to gasoline shortages, Putin replied: “We must be prepared for anything.” “Only our preparedness will make it clear to anyone who wants to harm us that it’s better not to do so,” he added.
According to Putin, Russia is “forced to respond in kind” to attacks on oil refineries, and this response “has proven significant”; oil companies have already begun actively working to independently protect their facilities and are gradually restoring damaged plants. “I think we’ll restore the remaining 10% very soon,” said the president.
“As long as the special military operation is underway, there’s only one answer—to strengthen the air defense system,” Putin added.
Since the beginning of the year, Ukrainian drones have struck Russian oil refineries at least 70 times, causing oil refining volumes in Russia to plummet to two-decade lows. As of the end of August, domestic gasoline production accounted for only about 70% of domestic consumption, the shortage reached approximately 30,000 metric tons per day, and at least 17 regions imposed restrictions on fuel sales—ranging from a ban on filling tanks with more than 30–40 liters to an “odd-even” system at gas stations based on license plate numbers.
In August, due to drone strikes, at least seven Russian refineries completely or partially halted production, and on September 2, the Kinef refinery in the Leningrad Region—the second-largest in the country by capacity—completely ceased operations. To cover the fuel shortage, Russian authorities began importing gasoline by sea for the first time in history—from India, Morocco, and Turkey—and also increased purchases from Belarus to a record high.