The Kremlin is leaking and, for the first time in four long years of conflict, Vladimir Putin has had no choice but to look at the ceiling and admit that the water reaches his ankles. In an unusual twist in the liturgy of Russian power, the president of Russia has openly acknowledged that the systematic campaign of Ukrainian drones against his refineries is causing “some shortage” of fuel.
“As for attacks on critical infrastructure in general, and on energy infrastructure in particular, of course these attacks on our infrastructure facilities create problems,” Putin said in an interview published by the Kremlin. “That’s obvious,” he says. And he clarifies, immediately afterwards: “At the moment we are observing a certain shortage, but it is not critical.”
The war, the one that Moscow insisted on encapsulating away from the daily life of ordinary citizens, what it still calls a “special military operation” is already served in 50-liter rations at gas stations in Siberia. No more. But let no one be fooled: the fixing of potholes is not a capitulation. With one hand the Russian president assumes the damage and with the other he doubles down.
Before the faithful of his party, United Russia, Putin has armored his rhetoric with the old mantra of the inviolability of the borders: the campaign on the battle front will continue unaltered, whoever falls and despite the trickle of retaliatory attacks with which kyiv tries to suffocate the invader’s war machine. “Yes, we see the problems, we are aware of them and we are responding to them, but we will certainly ensure the security of both the country and our citizens, as well as the inviolability of Russia’s borders,” he said.
According to the president, the Government’s main priority is now to improve the capabilities of the Russian air defense system and ensure that fuel supplies reach consumers. “We will certainly overcome all the challenges we face today, including terrorist attacks against our territory and infrastructure,” he added.
Sprint attacks
Putin’s recognition comes after a dark weekend for Russian energy infrastructure. Volodymyr Zelensky’s drones have demonstrated an alarming range, hitting the Slavyansk refinery (in the southern Krasnodar region, about 300 kilometers from the line of fire) and skimming Yaroslavl, a blow no less than 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
The toll of this latest wave goes beyond the black smoke: one death in the south and main roads cut off at the gates of Moscow. “The attacks on our facilities create problems, it’s obvious,” Putin confessed in a televised interview, lowering the rating to “non-critical” while the State machinery rushes to plug the holes.
The annexed peninsula of Crimea has already declared a state of logistical emergency due to the collapse of supplies by land and sea, a huge headache for a region militarized to the hilt. The crisis, however, is traveling at full speed towards the east. In the distant Siberian province of Irkutsk, Governor Igor Kobzev has imposed rationing of a maximum of 50 liters per day per vehicle at state-owned Rosneft stations.
While resellers are making a fuss and police are imposing fines against the clock on icy roads, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak maneuvers in his offices analyzing drastic restrictions on the export of diesel and gasoline. The slogan is clear: we must feed the national machinery before selling abroad.
Parallel diplomacy in the shadows
The other half of the board is played in the corridors of high-stakes geopolitics. While the G7 closes its meetings in France by tightening the screws and Donald Trump publicly demands that Russia “reach an agreement with Ukraine”, Putin plays the game of distraction and brings out his contact agenda. The Kremlin leader has hinted that he expects a visit to Moscow from the White House’s diplomatic plumbers: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of the Republican magnate and negotiator for everything.
For Putin, the thaw of the talks – paralyzed by the boiling of the conflict in the Middle East on the Iranian track – is only a matter of time. “We are ready to continue the negotiations and discuss all the details,” he concluded, measuring the times with a ruler. He has also welcomed the fact that Russian troops have practically taken the Ukrainian city of Liman and are approaching the bastion of Sloviansk, both in the Donetsk region. “Krasni Limán is one of the largest staging yards in the former Soviet Union and a vital logistics center. Only 149 buildings remain to be liberated out of a total of 11,000,” he told presenter Pavel Zarubin.
He knows perfectly well that the clock is ticking in his favor if the logistical seams hold, while on the battlefields the harshness does not cease: the skies have become a swarm of steel with more than a hundred drones crossing in the night, leaving an incessant trickle of civilian victims both in the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia and in the Russian border Belgorod.
It is the chronicle of a long war that cannot be hidden, not even by turning off the tap.
