(MOSCOW, RUSSIA) – Fuel shortages have forced restrictions on motor fuel sales in at least 10 Russian regions as Moscow struggles with the aftermath of Ukrainian long range strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.
The crisis was reported by TVP World on 17th August 2026, with correspondent Oksana Kaji reporting from Kyiv that Russia is experiencing a second wave of major fuel shortages. Russian authorities had previously managed to stabilise the situation, but the effects of Ukrainian attacks on oil infrastructure are now causing significant problems for domestic fuel production.
The report noted that Russia is a fuel producer, making the shortages particularly significant as an indicator of the impact Ukrainian drone strikes are having on the Russian wartime economy.
Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least nine people and wounded 43 others over the past 24 hours. Further attacks targeted Kyiv, Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih, where a steel plant was hit. A shopping centre in Odesa was targeted by jet powered drones.
Ukraine has continued to launch its own attacks, with the aftermath of a drone strike on the Koladino branch of Wildberries in Moscow showing severe destruction following Sunday’s attack.
In other developments, Russia’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Yabloko, the country’s only registered anti-war opposition party, barring it from participating in September’s Duma elections. The court justified its decision by alleging Yabloko had received foreign funding.
Following the appeal hearing, 50 people were taken into custody. Yabloko’s deputy leader Lev Schlossberg was found guilty of discrediting the Russian army and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Polls indicate that Yabloko would receive around 18 percent of the vote, easily passing the Duma’s 5 per ent threshold. Surveys show more than 81 percent of Russians support ending the war in Ukraine, with 33 percent believing the war is the country’s number one issue.
Bogdan Nahaylo, editor in chief of Kyiv Post, told TVP World that the damage from long range Ukrainian strikes is having significant effect on the Russian economy, energy supplies, petrol supplies, morale and psychology.
He noted that Russian forces are losing up to 1,500 men per day according to Ukrainian and Western sources, and have changed tactics from mass assaults to small groups of three or four fighters attempting to break through Ukrainian lines.
Nahaylo also reported that Russia is preparing to withdraw troops from border regions to bolster frontline sectors, potentially replacing them with North Korean troops. He said this indicates a dramatic shortage of manpower on the front lines.
Former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov told CBS News on 16th August that Ukraine could be capable of using domestically produced ballistic missiles to strike targets inside Russia within three to six months.
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