Ukrainian drone attacks on energy infrastructure are intensifying fuel shortages in Russia, triggering a rare admission from President Vladimir Putin of the gravity of the situation.In unusually candid public remarks to a meeting of senior officials on Sunday, Putin explicitly acknowledged that Ukrainian strikes had led to fuel rationing.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“You are well aware that problems for drivers and for businesses persist,” he said, according to Russian news agencies. “Unfortunately, there are still queues at petrol stations too.”“We have to reduce to a minimum the impact of terrorist attacks on our civilian targets and infrastructure,” he said, adding that the situation required “systemic measures that match the scale of current challenges”.Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian energy facilities in recent months, hitting Russia’s crude oil and refined products sales, its main source of export income and the main source of funding for its war efforts.Norsi, Russia’s fourth-largest oil refinery and the second-largest producer of petrol, suspended operations last week following a Ukrainian drone attack. The facility is located near Kstovo in the Nizhny Novgorod region, 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Moscow.Ukraine’s military said it also struck Russia’s Orenburg gas processing plant, which has a capacity of 45 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year. It is located in the southern Urals near Russia’s border with Kazakhstan, more than 1,200km (750 miles) beyond the front lines in Ukraine Advertisement Last week, Ukraine also used long-range drones to hit two oil facilities in Kerch in Crimea and the port of Ka …
