Vladimir Putin attends a meeting via video conference at the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, June 23, 2026
EA-Ukraine VideoCast: A “Desperate” Kremlin Amid Gasoline Shortages and Crimea’s Isolation
Vladimir Putin has finally acknowledged Ukraine’s counter-attacks damaging Russia’s economy and the Kremlin’s 52-month full-scale invasion.
At a Kremlin video conference on Tuesday, Putin made his first comments about the attacks since Ukraine strikes on the Moscow Oil Refinery on June 16 and 18.
He declared falsely that Russian forces were rapidly advancing on the frontline and then said:
[Ukraine] has adopted a tactic of striking our civilian targets and infrastructure.
They are attempting to disrupt energy supplies and impact the tourism season — intentions they have openly communicated to us through various channels.
He added, “The primary responsibility for countering these threats rests with the Defense Ministry and other security agencies. At the same time, the government of the Russian Federation must also take additional measures to minimize — or completely eliminate— the consequences of such actions.”
In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky commented:
The majority in Russia is already taking issue with Putin because there is no end in sight to his war. And all the hardships Russians are facing today should bring them closer to the realization that their war is real, that it’s not just “stones falling from the sky,” and that their war must end.
Ukraine’s Latest Strikes
Ukrainian drones struck power infrastructure in Russian-occupied Crimea and a gas processing plant in Russia’s Orenburg region overnight.
Power outages followed the explosions at Crimea’s Simferopol Power Station. Sevastopol’s main electric substation was struck several times, blacking out the entire city.
The Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, on Russia’s border with Kazakhstan, was set afire.
Early Tuesday, Ukraine hit a railway bridge across the North Crimean Canal as well as fuel facilities and military infrastructure in the occupied peninsula.
Amid Ukraine’s strikes on refineries including the Moscow complex — responsible for 40% of the capital’s fuel market — at least 15 Russian regions introduced restrictions on gasoline and diesel sales on Tuesday.
On Saturday, gasoline sales were banned in Crimea except for the military and essential services.
