Putin admits fuel shortages as Ukrainian drones set another Russian oil refinery ablaze
- US News
- World News
- Page Six
- Sports
- Post Sports+
- Sports Betting
- Business
- Opinion
- Entertainment
- Shopping
- Lifestyle
- Health
- Real Estate
- Alexa
- Media
- Tech
- Science
- Astrology
- Video
- Photos
- Pod Force One
- NY POSTcast
Switch between CA and NY editions here.
Editiontrending now in World News
Skip to main content
US-brokered peace agreement with Israel ‘will not be...
Mexican ‘Batman’ vigilante wanted for chasing down...
Mom of TikTokker accused of killing boyfriend in Dubai begs for...
How US turned up the heat on Iran with Hormuz, Lebanon before...
Most Russian recruits have life expectancy of just 20 minutes on...
English influencer, 23, claims self-defense as she faces death...
Miracle moment US rescuers pull baby, mom from rubble after...
11-year-old boy finds 1.8M-year-old elephant tooth on beach in...
World News
Putin admits fuel shortages as Ukrainian drones set another Russian oil refinery ablaze
By Associated Press Published June 28, 2026, 10:51 p.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The New York Post on GoogleUkraine kept up its heavy drone assault on Russia, setting fire to a major oil refinery in the south, as President Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time on Sunday that the country was facing a “certain deficit” of fuel and vowed to strengthen protection of oil facilities and boost fuel output.
Ukraine has markedly stepped up its long-range attacks on Russian military industries and energy facilities in recent months, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for its invasion — now in its fifth year — and make Russians feel the consequences.
“Our ‘long-range sanctions’ reached two oil refineries in Russia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Sunday. “Each (strike) means a reduction in the resources that fuel the Russian war machine, and another step toward peace.”
4
4
The campaign has choked Russian fuel supplies, causing widespread shortages and long lines at gas stations across the country and prompting authorities in many regions to introduce fuel rationing. According to Western analysts, it has also slowed Moscow’s efforts on the battlefield, heaping pressure on the Kremlin to come to the negotiating table.
Explore More
US-brokered peace agreement with Israel ‘will not be implemented’ after Hezbollah rips up ‘humiliating’ deal: Lebanon
Mexican ‘Batman’ vigilante wanted for chasing down suspected motorbike thieves, taping them to lampposts
Mom of TikTokker accused of killing boyfriend in Dubai begs for her ‘little girl’ to be spared firing squad
Putin says Ukrainian attacks aim to split Russian society
Speaking to a Russian state TV reporter, Putin described the Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries as an attempt to “cause a split in Russian society and force Russia to halt, even if only briefly, the advance of our troops along the line of contact, and create conditions for launching a negotiation process on terms advantageous to our adversary.”
“We will not give them that chance,” Putin said, adding that “strikes on our infrastructure, wherever they are directed, have absolutely no effect on the situation at the front, on the line of contact.”
He said for the first time that Ukraine has proposed a halt on deep strikes, arguing that Kyiv made the offer because Russian strikes deep into Ukrainian territory are more powerful and devastating.
The Russian leader added that Kyiv also offered to limit the fighting to the four regions that Russia annexed but never fully captured — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. He rejected the proposal, arguing it would allow Ukraine to relocate its forces that are fighting Russian troops in other areas to let them focus on fending off the Russian attacks in the four southeastern regions.
4
Ukrainian drones set major Russian refinery on fire
Meanwhile, debris from downed Ukrainian drones sparked a blaze at the refinery in Slavyansk-na-Kubani, a town in Russia’s Krasnodar region, east of occupied Crimea, according to regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev. The falling debris killed one person in Slavyansk and wounded another in a nearby village, local authorities said.
The facility is one of southern Russia’s major refineries, processing close to 4 million tons of crude per year, according to its operator’s website. It is also a key source of petroleum products intended for export through Russia’s Black Sea ports, including fuel oil, naphtha and marine fuel.
Zelenskyy also claimed that another Russian refinery, in the Yaroslavl region around 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was hit during the nighttime strikes.
There were no immediate reports from Russian authorities about the strike on the Yaroslavl refinery. Local Gov. Mikhail Evraev reported on Sunday morning that some roads between Moscow and the region’s capital, Yaroslavl, were temporarily closed due to “an enemy attack by Ukrainian drones.”
Fuel shortages in Russia as Putin says plans will be ‘adjusted’
For months, Ukraine has been stepping up attacks on energy facilities deep inside Russia. Despite a raft of Western sanctions, Moscow remains among the world’s top exporters of oil and natural gas.
More recently, Ukraine has attempted to choke off fuel deliveries to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula illegally annexed by Moscow in early 2014. Last weekend, Kremlin-installed officials in Crimea suspended gasoline sales to civilians, after Kyiv’s targeting of supply routes triggered the worst energy crisis there since the annexation.
Speaking at a meeting with officials that focused on the fuel situation, Putin admitted that the country was “going through a difficult period,” but insisted that Moscow would “honor all its social obligations.”
Shortly after, he told state TV that the country’s arms industries will quickly ramp up production of air defense systems to fend off Ukrainian attacks.
Putin also said that Russia will import more fuel and speed up repair works at oil facilities to end the “temporary deficit.”
“All damaged facilities are being restored quite quickly, and the issues that arise are not critical,” he said.
4
Putin specifically pledged to quickly deal with fuel shortages in Crimea, saying that fuel deliveries to the Black Sea peninsula by land and sea will rise and voicing confidence that “this task will be accomplished.”
As fuel shortages spread across Russia, the governor of the Irkutsk region in Siberia, thousands of kilometers (miles) from the Ukrainian border, Igor Kobzev announced that drivers will only be allowed to buy no more than 50 liters (13 gallons) of fuel per vehicle per day at state-run Rosneft gas stations in the province. Other gas stations may set lower limits.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Moscow was actively reviewing fuel export agreements to avoid compromising domestic needs.
Start your day with all you need to know
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.
Thanks for signing up!
Drones, bombs and missiles target more regions
Also on Sunday, a Russian aerial bomb killed two people in Zaporizhzhia — a city in southern Ukraine — and injured 16 others, including two children, said regional administration head Ivan Fedorov.
In Russia’s border region of Belgorod, Ukrainian drone strikes killed one person and injured another earlier on Sunday, according to acting local Gov. Alexander Shuvayev.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 213 Ukrainian drones during the night, including over Russia, occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.
Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 142 long-range strike drones and eight missiles overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force. Of those, 125 drones and seven missiles were struck down, the air force said.
Filed under Read Next Mexican 'Batman' vigilante wanted for chasing down suspect...Trending Now in World News
-
This story has been shared 20,706 times.
20,706
US-brokered peace agreement with Israel ‘will not be implemented’ after Hezbollah rips up ‘humiliating’ deal: Lebanon
-
This story has been shared 11,934 times.
11,934
Mexican ‘Batman’ vigilante wanted for chasing down suspected motorbike thieves, taping them to lampposts
-
This story has been shared 8,024 times.
8,024
How US turned up the heat on Iran with Hormuz, Lebanon before ship strikes
-
This story has been shared 7,556 times.
7,556
Most Russian recruits have life expectancy of just 20 minutes on Ukraine front lines, chilling report claims
Most Commented Join the conversation
-
This story has 2.3K comments.
2.3K
Mamdani won’t enforce SCOTUS ruling on deportation protection for Haitians, Syrians
-
This story has 1.8K comments.
1.8K
NYC enacts rent freeze on 1M stabilized units after Mamdani is accused of stacking board
-
This story has 1.6K comments.
1.6K
JD Vance tells Bill Maher how ‘America wins’ with or without Iran deal
Listen Now
Now on Page Six
-
Jaime King’s estranged husband, Austin Sosa, ignites nasty divorce war after ‘blindsiding’ actress with filing
-
Liza Minnelli’s 80th birthday tribute includes wild tale of teary Richard Simmons backstage at ’90s Barbra Streisand gig
Video
More Stories
Page Six
Collin Gosselin sends pointed message to mom Kate with savage post ahead of memoir release
Decider
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Agent Kim Reactivated’ On Netflix, Where A Mild-Mannered Office Worker Dregs Up His Black Ops Past When His Daughter Goes Missing
NYPost
Vile footage shows Texas sisters Cookie and Kitty grin as they’re busted for allegedly hacking mom of 5 to death
© 2026 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved Terms of Use Subscription Terms Privacy Notice SitemapYour California Privacy Rights
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
