Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time on Sunday that his country was facing a “certain deficit” of fuel, as Ukraine continues to strike Russian energy infrastructure, setting fire to yet another major oil refinery in the south
According to regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev, the falling debris killed one person in Sloviansk and wounded another in a nearby village, in eastern occupied Crimea,
Processing close to 4 million tons of crude per year, the facility is one of southern Russia’s major refineries and a key source of petroleum products for export through Russia’s Black Sea ports, including fuel oil, naphtha, and marine fuel.
Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy has claimed that another Russian refinery, in the Yaroslavl region around 700 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, was also hit during the nighttime strikes. However, there were no immediate reports from Russian authorities about the strike.
Amid the latest strikes, Putin has vowed to strengthen the protection of oil facilities and boost fuel output, as Moscow feels the consequences of the prolonged war.
