Fuel sales already restricted in Moscow! Russians panic as economy stalls

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:03]Today [snorts] in the news digest, new drone attack on Russia, 19th since May.

[00:00:08]Another oil refinery ablaze, this time in Krasnodar Krai. The scale of Ukrainian drone strikes leaves the Kremlin facing a severe domestic fuel shortage. The Russian offensive completely stalled in May, marking their worst monthly rate of territorial gain since October 2023, when Moscow initially launched its strategic advance operation.

[00:00:30]Friendly drones attacked Russia's Krasnodar Krai on the night of 1 to 2 June, causing a fire at the Ilsky oil refinery. According to Astra's estimates, this attack is at least the 16th strike on the Ilsky refinery since the start of the full-scale war. The Ilsky oil refinery is one of southern Russia's largest oil facilities and plays a key role in producing petroleum products. Its primary processing units have a total capacity of over 6.5 million tons annually. The refinery supplies the Russian armed forces. Also, the town of Alexeyevka, located in Russia's Belgorod region, was targeted in a drone attack early this morning.

[00:01:06]Following the strike, a major fire broke out on the premises of one of the industrial facilities.

[00:01:13]In temporarily occupied Crimea, the Jankoy train station was closed following overnight explosions.

[00:01:20]Additionally, local authorities announced a temporary suspension of all commuter train services across the peninsula, citing unspecified so-called technical reasons.

[00:01:30]At the same time, the independent Telegram channel Crimean Wind reports, citing internal sources, that a Russian military echelon was struck at around 11 p.m. last night.

[00:01:41]>> Our warriors now have the capability to reach Russian military logistics across virtually the entire depth of the temporarily occupied territory. There are practically no safe roads left for the occupier in the south and east of our state. This is further proof that there will be no calm times for the occupier on our land.

[00:02:01]>> During May, Ukrainian forces successfully struck eight of Russia's 10 largest oil refineries.

[00:02:07]According to Bloomberg, the scale of these persistent drone strikes leaves the Kremlin facing a severe risk of domestic fuel shortages.

[00:02:14]The agency estimates that the Ukrainian armed forces launched at least 30 strikes against Russian oil facilities over the past month.

[00:02:21]This marks a record-breaking monthly total since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. In our next report, we examine the long-term economic and logistical fallout of this unprecedented campaign.

[00:02:34]>> The automotive fuel shortage in Russia has reached the capital region. At gas stations in New Moscow, restrictions on gasoline sales have been introduced. No more than 60 L per person and up to 100 L for diesel fuel. As The Moscow Times reports, these restrictions will remain in place until, I quote, "further instructions." Fuel supply issues in Russia are worsening due to Ukrainian UAV strikes on oil refineries and oil infrastructure assets. As a result, oil refining in the central part of Russia has dropped significantly. Similar difficulties were previously encountered in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as in Crimea.

[00:03:11]Specifically, in Sevastopol, the occupational authorities limited fuel sales to 20 L per person and introduced coupons for diesel.

[00:03:19]>> There are definitely problems with gasoline in the city.

[00:03:22]I believe that there is a problem with gasoline because I haven't been able to fuel up for 2 days. Yesterday, there was no gasoline, and today I'm driving around the city, and there is neither 92 nor 95 gasoline.

[00:03:34]>> Due to a record number of strikes by the armed forces of Ukraine, Russia risks facing a large-scale fuel shortage.

[00:03:39]According to Bloomberg agency estimates in May, the Ukrainian army set a record since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, attacking Russian refineries 16 times in a single month.

[00:03:49]More than 10 additional strikes targeted pipelines, oil depots, and port infrastructure. According to Reuters, by the second half of May, oil refining capacities of about 238,000 tons per day had shut down in Russia.

[00:04:01]This is approximately a quarter of the total Russian refining volume.

[00:04:08]Ukraine's logistical sanctions have led to the fact that in Crimea, it is no longer just the military, but civilians who are short on gasoline. This has a complex impact on logistics and petroleum product manufacturing. But the second component is the oil pumping stations. Roughly speaking, these are the hubs of pipelines that carry oil flows to these oil refineries and oil depots, such distribution stations.

[00:04:29]Following successful Ukrainian UAV 5 strikes on Russian oil industry enterprises, Russia's government has also temporarily banned the export of aviation kerosene. The Russian government website stated that the decision was made to prevent a fuel shortage on the domestic market.

[00:04:43]According to the decree, the export ban on jet engine fuel, including that purchased at exchange trading, will be in effect until November 30th, 2026. As Bloomberg notes, Moscow's decision is directly linked to the Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries. Due to damage and plant shutdowns, the level of oil refining in Russia has dropped to its lowest indicators in more than 16 years.

[00:05:05]The decision, which will have little impact on international fuel markets, comes after drone strikes on refineries pushed Russia's crude processing rate to the lowest in more than 16 years. In an effort to curb the flow of petrodollars into the Kremlin's coffers, Ukraine has targeted a wide range of energy assets, including seaports and pipelines, from a publication by Bloomberg. In parallel with the Ukrainian long-range sanctions, European partners are strictly monitoring the execution of European and American restrictive measures. For instance, France has detained a Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Atlantic for the fourth time. The operation was carried out with the support of the United Kingdom, as reported by the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture of France.

[00:05:45]The sanctioned vessel was heading from Russia's Murmansk under the flag of Cameroon.

[00:05:49]>> It is unacceptable for ships to circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea, and fund the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than 4 years. These vessels, which fail to adhere to the most basic rules of maritime navigation, also pose a threat to the environment and to everyone's safety. Emmanuel Macron, president of France, on X.

[00:06:10]>> To intensify economic pressure on Moscow, the European Union is preparing its 21st package of sanctions against the RF. According to Bloomberg, the restrictions could affect around 20 more tankers of the Russian shadow fleet, which the Kremlin uses to bypass oil sanctions and export its black gold.

[00:06:26]Furthermore, Brussels is discussing additional measures against banks, oil traders, refining enterprises, and crypto operators in third countries that help Russia bypass restrictions and maintain energy resource exports.

[00:06:37]Reported by Nikita Skoblikov, UATV News.

[00:06:45]>> Just recently, in our segment here at UATV, we have already stated, Russia being Russia, it won't stop. It will continue what it has always been doing, terror.

[00:06:54]Tonight is yet another proof of that.

[00:06:56]Russia launched a massive combined missile and drone terror attack across Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday, June 2nd, killing at least 14 people and injuring over 100 others as strikes hit Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Kyiv region.

[00:07:10]dot The overnight assault triggered fires, damaged multi-story apartment buildings across several regions, and knocked out power in parts of the capital.

[00:07:18]In Kyiv, five people were murdered by Russia, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

[00:07:23]According to the State Emergency Service, there are in total 64 injured in Kyiv, including three children.

[00:07:29]>> In total, Russia launched 656 strike drones and 73 missiles of various types, ballistic, cruise, anti-ship, at our people overnight. A large-scale attack in a completely transparent statement from Russia. If Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these strikes will continue.

[00:07:46]Vladimir Zelensky, President of Ukraine on X.

[00:07:51]>> Worth remembering one thing here.

[00:07:52]Ukraine today is not Ukraine 4-5 years ago. It has completely different means to counter Russian attacks. And Russia today is not the same Russia it was back then. Bragging and saber-rattling for propaganda-soaked brains of domestic audiences and some Western politicians is one thing.

[00:08:09]But it is a completely different thing to continue a stalled war on the front line and at the same time to throw at Ukraine as much as this immense barrage that took the Kremlin 2 weeks to gather.

[00:08:19]The pace is slowing, obviously.

[00:08:21]Russia is draining. Well, Russia still can kill, yes.

[00:08:25]But it can never win.

[00:08:27]Otherwise, it would take a long time to do it.

[00:08:30]But Russia is so busy with murdering children and civilians that its pace on the front line slows down. According to analysts from Deep State in May, the enemy occupied just 14 square kilometers of Ukrainian land. We confirm this is the first month in recent years when the increase in occupied Ukrainian land for the Russians becomes almost negative.

[00:08:49]Obviously, the war is entering a new phase. Ukraine gains momentum and it is important for us not to lose it.

[00:08:55]Fortunately, there are promising personnel changes. The new Minister of Defense Fedorov is one of such. The new commander of the East military army flank, Nikolyuk, is the other. Also, a lot of smart middle-level commanders and brigade commanders are taking the difference in the change to the better.

[00:09:15]Citing The Economist, the war in Ukraine is at the final stage of the First World War in terms of the front line standstill and the exhaustion of the parties. Believes American analyst Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and one of the most prominent Western experts specializing in the Russian-Ukrainian War.

[00:09:34]At the same time, Lee points to a new tactic that appeared in 1918, combining aimed artillery fire and well-trained assault groups, which made decisive breakthroughs possible and put an end to trench warfare.

[00:09:45]Lee believes that now the same is happening, developing technologies and tactics that will help restore maneuver battles.

[00:09:51]In his opinion, Ukraine can create, quote, islands of advantage in a certain place and time, for example, disrupting Russian drone operations in a specific section of the front by blinding their operators, shelling their positions, or attacking with its own drones. Such an operation could require weeks of preparation, distractions, and intelligence gathering.

[00:10:11]If the cauldron is properly opened, however, Ukrainian armored vehicles will rush forward and seize the advantage, moving 5 to 10 km behind the front line and causing the Russians to be routed.

[00:10:23]Lee expects to see successful armored breakthroughs based on these principles as early as this year.

[00:10:28]Well, Mr. Lee, that makes you and roughly 40 million Ukrainians and hundreds of millions of good people all over the globe waiting for that.

[00:10:40]That's all for today's news digest.

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