Putin says Ukrainian strikes are hurting Russia’s economy
The Russian president said Moscow is recovering from Ukrainian attacks on infrastructure and vowed more strikes on Ukraine.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said a rise in Ukrainian attacks is causing damage inside Russia, including to the economy. His comments matter because they mark a public admission that Kyiv’s long-range strike campaign is being felt beyond the battlefield.
Putin spoke Friday after weeks of Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure, including a strike Kyiv said it carried out on a major oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk the previous night. Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency reported Putin as saying the strikes were damaging but that Russia was recovering quickly.
The Russian leader said the attacks were meant to create disorder in Russian society, according to TASS. He argued they would not split the public or hurt the economy to the extent Ukraine intended.
Putin also said the attacks would not weaken Moscow’s commitment to its war in Ukraine. He said Russia would increase strikes on what he called enemy infrastructure to deter attacks on Russian civilian sites, and he said Moscow needed to strengthen its air defences.
Energy sites under pressure
Ukraine has increasingly targeted refineries, fuel depots and pipelines deep inside Russia, according to the report. Those facilities are tied to Russia’s oil and gas exports, a major source of revenue for Moscow.
The attacks have come as Russia’s advances in eastern Ukraine have slowed, according to the report. Ukrainian officials say the strikes are a legitimate response to Russia’s regular drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities.
Ukraine has also attacked supply routes into Russian-occupied Crimea, including fuel trucks, according to the report. Those attacks have contributed to the worst fuel shortage on the peninsula since Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged fuel shortages in Crimea earlier this week and said measures were being taken to address them. Photos from Simferopol on Friday showed cars waiting at a petrol station, according to The Associated Press.
Analysis of Ukraine’s campaign
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said Ukraine’s longer-range strikes and attacks on transport routes were working together. The institute said the campaign was cutting into Russia’s production capacity while also making it harder for Russia to move the fuel it still produces.
Putin’s remarks came as diplomatic prospects remained dim. He recently rejected the idea of direct talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the war.
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskii, has said Ukraine regained more territory than it lost in May. According to the report, that reversed a pattern in which Russia had posted monthly net gains.
The war, launched by Russia in February 2022, continues to put pressure on military, energy and civilian infrastructure on both sides. Putin’s comments show the Kremlin is now addressing the domestic effects of Ukraine’s strike campaign while insisting Russia’s war effort will continue.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.