Kathrine Frich
The president insisted that the domestic energy infrastructure is robust enough to survive the ongoing struggle.
When military operations drag on, the economic ripple effects inevitably start hitting everyday infrastructure.
Navigating supply shortages and keeping the domestic population calm becomes a critical battlefield of its own for any government during a major conflict.
Now, a high level official meeting has cast light on how one state is scrambling to protect its energy grid.
Temporary market trouble
Russian President Vladimir Putin held an emergency meeting with his cabinet to address major bottlenecks in the country’s fuel network.
The trouble is widespread. According to the TASS news agency, the state has been forced to delay several oil refinery maintenance projects to save resources.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak informed the president that officials are unlocking extra storage capacity right now to keep the local market alive.
The state is working hard to reassure a nervous public. Putin blamed the empty pumps on a targeted Ukrainian military campaign.
“It is absolutely clear that the enemy is seeking to damage the economy. But most importantly, it is seeking to create a nervous atmosphere in society. We understand that this is an impossible task,” Putin stated, according to TASS.
Guarding the pumps
The president insisted that the domestic energy infrastructure is robust enough to survive the ongoing drone campaign.
“The safety margin of the Russian energy system is very high, one of the highest in the world,” he told his ministers.
Even so, the president acknowledged that the shortages are directly affecting holiday traffic. He claimed the disruption was a deliberate attempt to ruin summer trips to annexed territories.
“These are temporary, completely obvious things, and are also linked to actions to disrupt the holiday season for our citizens in the south of the country, including Crimea,” Putin added.
Ordering fast decisions
To fix the crisis, the president ordered big oil corporations to stop hoarding fuel. He demanded that major firms like Rosneft immediately supply independent gas stations to help keep pump prices stable.
Logistics must move faster. He ordered the cabinet to rush fuel supplies to Crimea instead of simply debating the problem. He told officials to ditch their slow bureaucratic habits.
“Let’s agree that the wording will be different. Not simply ‘ready to consider,’ not simply ‘consider,’ but ‘consider and make a decision as quickly as possible.’ There’s no need to drag it out,” he said during the meeting.
Putin concluded that military and police forces must get their fuel first. Still, ordinary families should not face additional financial burdens. Novak will report back on their progress soon.
Sources: TASS
