Checking Putin’s Oil Claims as Russian Refineries Burn
Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing criticism for attributing domestic fuel shortages to global market dynamics rather than infrastructure damage. Reports indicate that Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries have significantly reduced Russia's domestic fuel production capacity.
Why it matters
The fuel crisis highlights the impact of the ongoing war on Russia's internal economic stability and the effectiveness of targeted infrastructure strikes.
Make us preferred on Google The growing fuel crisis gripping Russia has caught up with Vladimir Putin even in the far eastern city of Vladivostok.
Speaking Thursday before business circles who know all too well that his economic framing is far from the truth, the Russian leader attempted to mask a severe infrastructure crisis behind global market dynamics.
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official .
Russian President Vladimir Putin argued Thursday that high global oil prices make exporting crude more profitable than refining it at home, while avoiding a direct answer on whether Russians should get used to recurring fuel shortages.
"How much is it there now? $95, I think, per barrel of Brent. It's more profitable to export crude oil than to process it domestically," Putin said at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok.
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