Zelenskyy called the fuel crisis in Russia a historical anecdote
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine’s strikes on Russian fuel infrastructure have already yielded tangible results. According to him, a country that for decades profited from oil and fuel exports is now forced to seek ways to import energy resources itself.
Journalists asked the president whether Ukraine could use diplomatic or other means to influence fuel supplies to Russia from India, China, Kazakhstan, or Belarus. In response, Zelenskyy said that the very fact that such a question was being asked was telling and clearly demonstrated how much the situation had changed. “A country like Russia, whose economy has always been oriented toward exporting its energy resources, is now scrambling to find fuel somewhere, to somehow increase its capacity to purchase and import fuel. That’s why Ukraine has already intervened. We’ve already done that,” the president emphasized.
According to Zelenskyy, just a few years ago it was hard to imagine that Russia—which was considered one of the world’s largest energy suppliers—would face the need to purchase fuel abroad. That is precisely why he called the current situation a “historical anecdote.”
The president also mentioned Russia’s first president, Boris Yeltsin. Zelenskyy ironically suggested that Yeltsin could hardly have imagined the consequences of his successor’s policies. “I think that if Yeltsin had known that more than 20 years later, Russia would be importing energy resources instead of exporting them—because it had decided to start a war—he would have chosen a different successor,” the head of state said.
Zelenskyy made it clear that the problems in Russia’s fuel sector were the result not only of international sanctions but also of systematic strikes against the Russian Federation’s oil refining and logistics infrastructure. In recent weeks, reports of gasoline and diesel fuel shortages in certain regions of Russia have become increasingly frequent. Due to the fuel shortage, local authorities are already imposing restrictions on gasoline sales, and in some regions, they are considering sales via QR codes or according to a special schedule. Against this backdrop, Russia is also increasing its purchases of certain types of petroleum products abroad.
According to the president, this situation indicates that Ukrainian strikes on the aggressor country’s fuel infrastructure are already having a strategic effect and are gradually weakening its ability to wage war. The head of state made these remarks while answering questions from journalists.
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