Vladimir Putin has acknowledged that an intensifying campaign of Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure is causing economic damage, while insisting Moscow is “recovering quickly” and vowing the attacks will not weaken Russia’s resolve to continue the war.
Putin’s comments on Friday came after weeks of escalating Ukrainian strikes on refineries, fuel depots and pipelines deep inside Russia, including an attack claimed by Kyiv on a major oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk the previous night. “As for the economy: they are certainly causing us damage, but we are recovering quickly,” Putin said, in remarks carried by Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency. He said the strikes were designed to “sow confusion” in Russian society, but insisted they would not succeed “in either dividing society nor in causing us economic harm – at least not in the way they are aiming for.”
The targeted facilities are central to Russia’s oil and gas export revenues, and the strikes appear to be exacting a growing toll as the war grinds on and Russian advances on the eastern front have slowed. Ukraine has framed the campaign as direct retaliation for Russia’s continued daily barrages of drones and missiles against Ukrainian towns and cities.
Putin responded by promising that Russia’s military would escalate strikes on what he called “the enemy’s infrastructure” in order to “discourage them from attacking our civilian facilities.” He also called for improvements to Russia’s air defences — the second such call he has made this month, underscoring growing concern within the Kremlin about the effectiveness of strikes reaching deep into Russian territory.
Beyond its long-range campaign, Ukraine has also targeted fuel supplies heading into Russian-occupied Crimea, including fuel trucks, triggering what Al Jazeera described as the worst fuel crisis on the peninsula since its illegal annexation by Russia in 2014. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said the two strands of Ukraine’s campaign were working together to compound the pressure on Russia. “The long-range strike campaign is therefore reducing Russia’s production capacity, while the midrange strike campaign is hurting Russia’s ability to transport the gasoline Russia is still able to produce,” the ISW said in its analysis.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the fuel shortages in Crimea earlier this week, saying “measures were being taken” to address them.
Putin’s admission of economic damage comes despite his continued reluctance to engage directly with Ukraine on ending the conflict. He recently rejected the prospect of face-to-face talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying there was currently “no point” in such a meeting.
