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Russia, the world’s second largest oil producer, is forced to import fuel from other countries to try to cope with shortages on the domestic market due to Ukrainian attacks on several refineries and the stoppage of some plants for regular maintenance work. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, responsible for the energy sector, officially admitted a circumstance that the media had already been talking about for some time. While another admission came from Vladimir Putin himself. The attacks by Kiev forces on industrial sites and logistics and commercial centers do not have “critical consequences” but “certainly damage” the Russian economy.
Russia, the fuel shortage and the consequences of the Ukrainian attacks
An assessment of the consequences of Ukrainian bombing ever deeper into Russian territory – in the last few hours a refinery in Ufa, 1,400 kilometers from the border was hit – was made during a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects, which was attended by the head of the Kremlin himself. At the center of the discussion are not only the attacks on refining plants, but also on the warehouses and logistics centers of Wildberries, a leading company in Russian online commerce, to which a very large number of small and medium-sized companies owe a large part of their turnover.
Putin admits damage to Russian economy
Putin began by evaluating the growth of the national economy as “modest but positive”, with an estimated increase in GDP of “1%”. And admitting that a series of factors weigh on it, including “external pressure and terrorist attacks on industrial sites and infrastructures”. That is, the Ukrainian drone raids. “Naturally there are no critical consequences from these attacks, there have not been and there cannot be – the Russian leader assured -. But they certainly damage us, that is obvious”. Then, regarding Wildberries, he stated that, “despite recent terrorist attacks”, the commercial infrastructure “operates effectively and remains resilient”. But “logistics and warehouse facilities, of course, must be restored, including with the participation of the State”.
Russia resorts to fuel imports
But the most delicate issue addressed was the fuel shortage. Ukrainian attacks on refineries have long since forced the government to ban petrol and diesel exports, while a sales rationing regime has been introduced in many regions. Long queues of motorists at petrol stations can also be seen in Moscow these days. Some of them told ANSA that they had to wait up to an hour to fill up. Now the executive is also playing the import card to try to satisfy needs.
“Imports have already begun, and the necessary regulations have been adopted to allow additional production of fuels of lower standards, i.e. Euro 2, Euro 3 and Euro 4”, Novak specified in an interview with state television broadcast by the Tass agency. The deputy prime minister did not say from which countries the imports are made, but several media outlets speculate that it could be India and Kazakhstan, as well as Belarus.