On the evening of June 28, Vladimir Putin held a meeting on supplying the domestic market with fuel, attended by the heads of Russia’s largest energy companies. The Kremlin press service reported the meeting.
According to Putin, Russian oil refineries are now operating “at maximum capacity”. He said not only major plants but also medium-sized and small enterprises had been involved in fuel production, while refinery repair schedules were being shortened. He added that in July, output of the main fuel types should exceed June levels.
At the same time, Putin acknowledged that problems on the market remain.
“Unfortunately, there are also queues at gas stations. And it is not always possible to find the required grade of gasoline,” he said.
Putin claimed that previously accumulated fuel reserves had already been redirected to the domestic market. According to him, gasoline reserves now “practically correspond” to last year’s level and amount to 1.7 million tons, which is 4% lower than in the same period of 2025.
After the meeting, Putin also gave an interview to Pavel Zarubin. In that conversation, he said that Ukrainian Armed Forces strikes on Russian infrastructure do create difficulties and cause “a certain shortage”, but described it as “not critical”.
Putin said the shortage should be addressed by increasing production of air defense systems to protect key facilities, speeding up repair work, and ensuring the necessary volume of imports. He also described the strikes on infrastructure not only as an attempt to inflict material damage but as an “information operation” aimed, in his words, at creating uncertainty and provoking division in Russian society. At the same time, Putin claimed that such attacks “have absolutely no effect on the situation at the front”.