---
title: "Putin Admits at VEF-2026 That Russia Was Unprepared for Ukrainian Strikes on Refineries and Urges Russians to Get Used to Gasoline Shortages"
description: "At VEF-2026, Putin admitted that Russia was unprepared for Ukrainian strikes on refineries and urged Russians to brace for a prolonged gasoline shortage. Production fell to 70% of domestic consumption."
date: 2026-09-03T12:40:01.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/putin-gasoline-shortage-vef-2026
tags: [putin, fuel-crisis, russia, ukraine-strikes, refineries, eastern-economic-forum, gasoline-shortage]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Putin Admits at VEF-2026 That Russia Was Unprepared for Ukrainian Strikes on Refineries and Urges Russians to Get Used to Gasoline Shortages

![Vladimir Putin looking pensive at the 2026 Eastern Economic Forum, acknowledging Russia's unpreparedness for strikes on refineries and fuel shortages](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/03/putin-deficit-benzina-vef-2026/putin-deficit-benzina-vef-2026-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- At VEF-2026, Putin acknowledged that Russian authorities were unprepared for Ukrainian strikes on refineries and had "been wrong" to consider them civilian objects
- Gasoline production in Russia fell to roughly 70% of domestic consumption levels by the end of August 2026
- Putin urged Russians to be "ready for anything" and did not rule out that the gasoline shortage would become long-term
- The Russian president spoke of a "mirror response" to the strikes on refineries and promised to restore "10% of the remaining" capacity in the near future
- Zelenskyy called Russia's attempts to import fuel from India, China, Kazakhstan, and Belarus "a historical joke"

At the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in September 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time in such candid terms that the Russian authorities had been caught unprepared by a series of Ukrainian attacks on oil refining infrastructure. In his own words, the Kremlin had "assumed that these were purely civilian objects and could not be targets of any attacks, even in the context of an armed conflict," but had "been wrong in this regard." The result, as the head of state himself noted, was a collapse in petroleum product output and the largest fuel crisis in modern Russian history. RBC-Ukraine reports this based on Putin's statement, which was also broadcast by The Moscow Times.

### Acknowledging a Systemic Error and a Call to Be "Ready for Anything"

Responding to a direct question from journalists about whether Russians should get used to gasoline shortages, Putin did not deny the scale of the problem. "We must be ready for anything. Only our readiness will make it clear to everyone who wants to harm us that it is better not to do so," he stated. The wording effectively confirmed that the fuel shortage at gas stations is not a temporary glitch but a long-term reality that the population will have to live with. Earlier, according to RBC-Ukraine, gasoline production in Russia fell to roughly 70% of domestic consumption levels by the end of August 2026, and huge queues had already formed at gas stations in the Yelets district of Lipetsk Oblast, with many stations running out of fuel entirely.

### A "Mirror Response" and Promises of Recovery

Putin also stated that in response to the strikes on refineries, Russia was "forced to respond in kind" and that this response "turned out to be significant." He promised that oil companies are "already actively protecting their own facilities" and are "gradually restoring the damaged plants." He gave no specific deadline, limiting himself to the phrase: "I think we will restore the remaining 10% in the near future." The strengthening of air defense, the president assured, will continue "as long as the special military operation is ongoing." Against the backdrop of these statements, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier called Russia's attempts to secure fuel through imports from India, China, Kazakhstan, or Belarus "a historical joke."

### Contradictory Data

In Putin's statements and in the way the story is presented by different outlets, there is a discrepancy in how the causes of the crisis are assessed. On the one hand, at VEF-2026 the president directly acknowledged an internal error: the authorities "were wrong" to assume that refineries would not become targets of attacks. On the other hand, in an interview with Kommersant (citing the same forum), the fuel shortage was presented primarily as the result of a deliberate Ukrainian attempt to "ruin the vacation season" for Russian citizens, shifting the focus from the systemic vulnerability of the infrastructure to the adversary's motives. Moreover, the phrase "we will restore the remaining 10%" is open to dual interpretation: it is unclear whether this percentage is calculated from the total number of damaged facilities or from the share that had not yet been restored by the time of the speech. None of the sources provides independent data on the actual volume of processing capacity taken out of service, making it impossible to assess the scale of the recovery without additional verification.

### Political Risks and Public Resonance

Analysts, whose review is cited by UNIAN with reference to the BBC, point out that the fuel crisis is weakening Putin's political position. Mass queues at gas stations, regional bans on transporting gasoline, and rising prices create a persistent negative backdrop that is difficult to offset with rhetoric about a "mirror response." A meeting held by Putin with the leadership of the oil companies (details reported by Life.ru) ended with promises to strengthen the protection of facilities and increase imports, but specific deadlines and volumes of foreign deliveries have not been disclosed publicly. Thus, by the beginning of September 2026, Russia found itself in a situation where the head of state is forced simultaneously to acknowledge a failure in protecting critical infrastructure and to warn his own population that they must be "ready for anything" — a formulation that, in the context of an ongoing conflict, is perceived as an admission of the chronic rather than episodic nature of the fuel shortage.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Putin Does Not Rule Out That Russians Should Get Used to Gasoline Shortages](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/putin-viklyuchiv-shcho-rosiyanam-varto-zvikati-1788438725.html) - Подтверждает цитату Путина о неготовности властей и призыве быть готовым ко всему. Источник первичный для заявлений на ВЭФ.
- [Putin Attributes Russia's Fuel Shortage to Ukrainian Attempts to Ruin the Vacation Season](https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/8799195) - Даёт альтернативную рамку подачи причин кризиса (сорвавшийся отпуск), что создаёт нестыковку с признанием внутренней ошибки. Использовано в блоке противоречий.
- [What Will Happen to Gasoline in Russia After Putin's Meeting: Prices, Shortages, Fuel Imports and Bans ...](https://life.ru/p/1897384) - Подтверждает факт проведения совещания с нефтекомпаниями и обсуждение импорта/запретов. Конкретные цифры не расходятся с базовым текстом.
- [Gasoline Shortage Weakens Putin's Political Position: BBC Analysis](https://www.unian.net/war/toplivnyy-krizis-v-rossii-mozhet-li-nehvatka-topliva-zastavit-putina-poyti-na-peregovory-13435089.html) - Даёт аналитический контекст о политических рисках. Использован для оценки общественного резонанса и политических последствий.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What exactly did Putin say at VEF-2026 about the gasoline shortage?
**A:** Putin acknowledged that the authorities had "been wrong" to assume that refineries would not become targets of attacks, and stated: "We must be ready for anything." He did not rule out that Russians should get used to a fuel shortage.

### Q: How much has gasoline production in Russia fallen?
**A:** According to RBC-Ukraine, by the end of August 2026 gasoline production in Russia had fallen to roughly 70% of domestic consumption levels. At gas stations in several regions (in particular, in the Yelets district of Lipetsk Oblast), fuel is in short supply or entirely unavailable.

### Q: What recovery measures is the Kremlin promising?
**A:** Putin stated that oil companies are "actively protecting their facilities" and "gradually restoring the damaged plants," adding that "10% of the remaining" capacity would be restored "in the near future." No specific deadlines or volumes were given. The strengthening of air defense was also promised.

### Q: How did Zelenskyy react to the fuel crisis in Russia?
**A:** The Ukrainian president called Russia's attempts to secure fuel through imports from India, China, Kazakhstan, or Belarus "a historical joke."