Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have sparked a fuel crisis that’s left Russians brawling at gas stations and waiting 13 hours for half a tank.
Viral footage from filling stations across multiple Russian regions shows heated arguments, shoving matches, and even a fistfight where one combatant delivers head-level kicks like an MMA fighter.
The chaos forced Russian President Vladimir Putin to publicly admit Ukraine’s long-range strikes are creating fuel problems inside Russia.
“You are well aware that problems for drivers and for businesses persist,” Putin told senior officials Sunday, according to Reuters. “Unfortunately, there are still queues at gas stations too.”
“We have to reduce to a minimum the impact of terrorist attacks on our civilian targets and infrastructure.”
Putin said gasoline reserves now stand at 1.7 million metric tons and that Russia is considering a complete ban on diesel fuel exports to keep domestic supplies flowing.
Ukraine’s aggressive drone campaign is hitting Moscow where it hurts — the energy sector that props up Russia’s global power.
Fox News reported fuel shortages have spread across Russia, including occupied Crimea, southern Russia, Siberia, and Moscow itself. The Kremlin is now weighing emergency measures like allowing production of lower-quality fuel just to keep cars moving.
Maxim Katz, a Russian opposition figure and former Moscow municipal deputy, told Fox News that “In some cities, you have to spend half a day looking for fuel, and then they give you only a little, and you have to get back in line again.”
The Fox News footage shows multiple confrontations — women arguing over their place in line, a male driver shouting obscenities at several women before punching one of them, and the MMA-style brawl between two men.
One woman, identified only as Tanya, 29, told a news outlet she waited 13 hours in Siberia to get half a tank of fuel.
She blamed Putin’s war for the chaos.
“He should stop this senseless conflict and let us live normally.”
Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drones to target Russian oil refineries, depots, and supply routes hundreds of miles from its border — forcing Moscow to manage visible problems at home and exposing a critical vulnerability in Putin’s war machine.
The fuel crisis is evidence Ukraine’s long-range strike campaign is doing more than damaging individual facilities. It’s making ordinary Russians feel the cost of Putin’s invasion in their daily lives.
Tempers are boiling over at Russian gas stations throughout the country as drivers get caught on camera fighting over fuel.
The chaotic scenes come as Vladimir Putin publicly acknowledged Russia is facing a shortage of fuel after months of Ukrainian drone strikes on the… pic.twitter.com/qCDaCAErNa
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 30, 2026
