Ukraine’s long distance strikes on Russian refineries haven’t come close to shutting down the nation’s oil infrastructure, but they have done enough damage to create fuel shortages in places that haven’t experienced them in the past four years. And there’s lots of evidence popping up online that regular Russians aren’t dealing with it well.
This poor woman ran out of gas in a traffic jam and couldn’t get her car to even turn over. People stopped but couldn’t help. Her husband thinks the batter in her key fob is dead. Whatever the case, she’s losing it.
Russians continue to descend into insanity amid hours- and even days-long waits for petrol.
After spending the entire day waiting in line for gasoline, a Russian woman suffers a complete breakdown as her car first runs out of fuel, then its battery dies, and finally the key fob… pic.twitter.com/Giz8PQLbjg— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) June 26, 2026
This poor woman spent 12 hours in line waiting for gas and the line isn’t moving.
Russians fall into despair nationwide, as dawn breaks and nights spent sleeping in cars yields no petrol. pic.twitter.com/R5dHGVboAG
— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) June 27, 2026
This woman says Moscow is a disgrace because there is no fuel day or night.
Russians still have no idea why all these horrific events continue to befall them.
Bad luck? pic.twitter.com/mlDKgf7QOw
— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) June 27, 2026
This Chinese migrant in St. Petersburg says gas stations are out of fuel.
Russia’s Fuel Crisis Has Reached the Chinese Community
A Chinese migrant living in St. Petersburg, who recently complained about strikes on an oil depot near his home, is now showing empty gas stations.
“There’s no AI-92, no AI-95. You can’t fill up your car. Everything’s been… pic.twitter.com/8Tr5Frhpuj
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) June 27, 2026
This guy doesn’t show his face but says the claims that “everything is fine” are lies. There is no gas and he had to drive to three stations.
🗣️ “Vova should be put on all fours for this. Right there on Red Square!” — tensions in Russia appear to be rising
A resident of Russia’s Novgorod region, who failed to refuel at three different gas stations, recorded an emotional video showing long lines for gasoline.
“You… pic.twitter.com/f3GhkU276P
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) June 27, 2026
Naturally, when you wait hours for gas, tempers get short. And that has led to some fighting at gas stations.
Violence today at Russian service stations as drivers wait up to 12 hours only to be told there’s nothing left. pic.twitter.com/UTEZHCZLRf
— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) June 21, 2026
Hands and feet thrown.
More gasoline related violence in Russian cities, as the savages still have no idea why this incredible run of bad luck. pic.twitter.com/6YPVCphO5M
— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) June 23, 2026
Of course things are now even worse in Crimea where all fuel sales to civilians has been ended earlier this week. This woman says that people are now being laid off from their jobs because no one can work. Is there a plan to help the 2.4 million people living there? Apparently it’s not even being discussed.
⛽️ People in Crimea are being laid off as the fuel shortage deepens
“Do you know what nobody is talking about in Crimea right now?” asks a resident of the Russian-occupied peninsula. According to her, businesses are shutting down because of the fuel shortage, and workers are… pic.twitter.com/yZ62QoLOEa
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) June 27, 2026
Her story is backed up by a report that transportation companies are shutting down routes because there is no fuel.
According to the pro-Russian portal Forpost, trolleybuses are running only intermittently due to power outages, some bus routes have been cancelled and intervals between services have increased.
Viktor Rykov, Head of the Russian Union of Transport Companies of Sevastopol, reported that in the current situation, transport companies are being allocated only a quarter of the fuel they actually need.
As I said before, Crimea is becoming Cuba.
Stepping back from the shortages a bit to the broader economic situation in Russia. Russia was really lucky that the Iran war happened when it did because just as it’s oil infrastructure was attacked the price of oil went up substantially. For a while this was more than making up for the decline in supply. This was further aided by Trump’s decision to temporarily life sanctions on Russian oil companies.
Now the good times are over. US sanctions against Russian oil companies have resumed. Even worse for Putin, the price of oil has now returned to pre-war levels.
Oil prices have fallen to levels not seen since before the war in Iran started, offering relief to households, businesses and governments around the world…
Oil prices had soared as high as $118 a barrel in the early stages of the war, after Iran effectively blocked ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for crude oil. But they began to fall after efforts to negotiate a cease-fire and evacuate ships trapped in the Persian Gulf. American and Iranian officials agreed in mid-June to reopen the strait, through which about 20 percent of the global supply of oil flows.
This is good news for everyone in the world except Putin. His only export is now worth a lot less than it was three months ago. With sanctions in place his only option is discount sales to China or India using his shadow fleet of tankers. How long can that last? No one seems to know.
President Vladimir Putin’s government held an emergency meeting earlier this week on the escalating fuel crisis after gasoline production plummeted 25 percent across Russia during the week of June 15-21 and pushed dozens of regions to impose rations.
As nervousness mounts over Russia’s weakening position and an apparent shift in tone against Moscow by President Donald Trump, Russian stocks have fallen more than 13 percent since the beginning of June — the biggest market drop since September 2022, when a Ukrainian counteroffensive forced Russia to retreat from a large chunk of strategic territory in Ukraine’s northeast.
“There is a state of total uncertainty,” said one former senior Russian finance official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters. “There is a feeling that there is no good end to this in sight.”…
“There are not enough missile defense systems to protect our infrastructure, it’s clear,” the Moscow business executive said. “No one appears to know what to do to increase production. This is a terrible situation that Putin and his closest circle appear to not have expected. … They have not prepared for a long war nor are they ready for the drone threat.”
Government officials continue to say that everything is fine and that the energy situation is temporary, but the people who actually know the oil business are panicking. The bottom line is that Russia isn’t just running out of gasoline, it’s running out of money at a time when Putin is trying to increase spending on the war. The only option left is more bond sales and more deficit spending, which drives inflation up.
The deficit reached 6 trillion rubles ($83 billion) by the end of May, more than double the level last year. “The budget is shaking,” one Russian official said. “The deficit is enormous, and the sovereign wealth fund is almost exhausted.”
The former senior finance official said a decision clearly had been taken to increase borrowing, including by issuing greater volumes of state bonds — a measure he said would further stoke inflation even as the central bank has sought to control rising prices with high interest rates, now at 14.25 percent.
Russia’s top TV propagandist is suggesting Putin seize money from the banking system to support Crimea.
Solovyov: Seize money from banks to fund Crimea
Putin’s top propagandist Vladimir Solovyov has suggested taking money from Russian banks to solve the problems of occupied Crimea.
“The sector that made the most money? The banking sector. So let’s take money from the banks and… pic.twitter.com/r8KZEunux7
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) June 27, 2026
Seizing money from the banks would likely be a disaster for the entire banking system and could potentially create bank runs. But, again, this is where Russia is at right now. They are running out of options. Putin is apparently preparing to access private pension saving to continue funding the war. This might keep the war going for a while, but not if Ukraine continues to strike Russian oil facilities. Putin is making billions of dollars per month and it’s not enough. Further strikes on the oil facilities could be catastrophic.
And all of that doesn’t even mention the human losses Russia is suffering. Putin is not only running out of gas and money, he’s running out of soldiers to fight.
According to Russian military bloggers, the average life expectancy of a new recruit—from arrival at a training ground to death in a combat zone—lies somewhere between 10 days and three weeks. Once they are sent onto the battlefield, Russian fighters survive an average of 20 to 35 minutes. Much of the reason for this is the extraordinary shift in battlefield technology and tactics—in particular, the ways that drones have become the primary killing machines in this war, with stark implications for the future of combat in other parts of the world.
Putin has been desperately trying to force Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to open a second front in the war against Ukraine, thereby giving him some breathing room. Lukashenko was summoned to Moscow this week.
Lukashenko was heading to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin on Friday evening, state media reported, a visit that comes amid escalating tensions between Ukraine and Belarus.
But so far it looks like Lukashenko is not interested because Ukraine has already threatened to do to Belarus what it is currently doing to Russia. And it appears Lukashenko believes it.
Putin is a very old dog. It’s too soon to count him out or assume he won’t find some new way to escalate. But there’s no doubt that he’s in trouble right now in a way that he hasn’t been over the past four years. The best thing that could happen to him now is a resumption of the US conflict with Iran. That would drive oil prices back up and give him a lifeline. No doubt he’s whispering in the ears of his Iranian friends even now.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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