Russia is starting to burn, but Putin has no plans to back down — CNN
Five years into the full-scale war, more and more Russians are beginning to notice the real consequences of the conflict, which the Kremlin continues to refer to as a “special military operation.” At the same time, according to CNN, Vladimir Putin shows no signs of intending to end the war.
The crisis was triggered by Ukraine’s drone campaign—unprecedented in its scale and impact—deep inside Russian territory. Targets for the strikes are carefully selected: oil refineries, oil terminals, weapons factories, and naval vessels. The main goal of this strategy is to drain Russia’s military economy and significantly increase the Kremlin’s economic and political costs.
Currently, the Ukrainian strategy is proving to be genuinely effective. Media outlets across the Russian Federation are widely documenting massive lines at gas stations—which the authorities are trying to conceal—and in annexed Crimea, fuel sales have already been suspended and a state of emergency declared due to a critical shortage of resources. Even President Vladimir Putin, following an emergency meeting over the weekend, was forced to admit to senior officials that national gasoline reserves had fallen to an alarming level, and that problems for businesses and drivers—as well as lines at gas stations—persist.
In addition, the Russian leader announced the creation of a dedicated task force and said he was considering a complete ban on diesel fuel exports, despite previous statements to the contrary by his own deputy prime minister. Putin also warned of a direct threat to agriculture and announced a carefully worded change of course—the need to minimize the impact of attacks on civilian infrastructure, even though he had previously systematically downplayed the significance of Ukrainian strikes. There is a profound irony here, as Russia has for years deliberately destroyed Ukrainian power plants and thermal power stations to create unbearable living conditions, and now Ukraine has reversed this logic, forcing the Russians themselves to feel the acute consequences of a similar strategy.
The current situation is fueling hope among Western leaders. At the G7 summit in France, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unequivocally emphasized that Russia’s fatigue is already openly evident in 2026, so the time has come to double support for Kyiv. Western officials note that Ukrainian strikes have cut off the supply of Russian fuel and military units, which is directly hindering the occupiers’ advance on the battlefield.
According to a report by the Council on Foreign Relations, the expansion of UAV operations has helped Ukraine reverse the trend of Russian conquests. Even U.S. President Donald Trump’s tone has shifted significantly: at the G7 summit, he stated that Russia must reach an agreement, and during a speech from the Oval Office, he called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a courageous leader who is handling the war quite well. Zelenskyy himself is convinced that, with adequate support, his drone campaign can quickly create conditions under which Russia will be forced to choose peace.
At the same time, analysts warn that the current fuel shortages do not mean the Kremlin is waving the white flag. Putin has spent decades building an image as an uncompromising leader, so any retreat or compromise is extremely difficult for him. Given the more than one million dead and wounded in this invasion, according to Western estimates, as well as claims to sovereignty over four Ukrainian regions, any settlement that cannot be presented in Moscow as a decisive victory threatens the Kremlin with serious domestic political tension.
The Russian president’s radical inner circle continues to insist on the need for a complete takeover of the Donbas, and this pressure shows no signs of abating even as Russian oil refineries continue to burn en masse, CNN reports.
Earlier, Zelenskyy mocked Putin for his constant claims about the imminent capture of Donbas.
Putin will not get a chance for a new occupation — Zelenskyy.
A series of diplomatic appeals to international leaders and institutions, along with an open letter to Putin, yielded the desired result.
