Putin’s New Law Reveals the Growing Pressure of the War

Russia is struggling with fuel supply disruptions, economic pressure, and growing challenges in the occupied territories

putin-new-law-war-pressure Credit:AI-Generated Illustration / OpenAI ChatGPT

The Ukrainian army is now directly targeting those places inside Russia where crude oil is refined to make petrol and diesel (Refineries).

Between January and May 2026, 38 attacks took place on Russian refineries. The direct result of this is that oil production in Russia has decreased a lot.

According to reports, in at least 25 regions of Russia, shortages of petrol, delays in supply, or problems related to fuel distribution have been recorded.

Until a few days ago, the number of such regions was reported to be 15, which shows that the scale of the problem is increasing.

In Russia, the refining of crude oil to make petrol and diesel has reached the lowest level in the last 16 years (4.58 million barrels per day).

The biggest blow has been to Russia’s central refinery hub, from where about one-third of the country’s petrol and one-fourth of its diesel used to come.

In addition, in the areas under Russian control — Crimea, Sevastopol, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia — reports have also emerged of various types of supply restrictions and bans.

Due to the lack of oil, many petrol pumps are shutting down. In places where oil is still available (such as in Crimea), prices have risen much higher than normal. In the black market, oil is being sold at one-and-a-half times the price.

In many places, rationing has been started to prevent ‘panic buying’ (buying extra fuel out of fear), which means a customer is being given only 60 to 100 liters of oil at a time.

The situation is worse in Crimea and Sevastopol, which were taken from Ukraine.

A system like a government QR code has had to be implemented there for fuel, because of which fuel prices in the black market have reached more than 50% above the official rate (130–150 rubles per liter).

After Crimea, the Ukrainian military (ZSU) has now completely isolated Donbas and Luhansk (Russian-occupied territories) by stopping the supply of logistics and fuel. Petrol has run out there too, and the Russian army is on the verge of being paralyzed.

On 8 June, Russia’s Energy Ministry publicly admitted this problem. They accepted that due to the “increase in enemy air attacks,” there is a temporary fuel shortage in the southern regions.

The ministry has also formed a special task force to keep the energy sector running.

If attacks on refineries and fuel storage centers continue at this pace, then in the coming months, the issue of fuel supply and prices could become a major economic and political challenge for Russia.

The condition of Crimea is very bad at this time, about which I wrote in detail in yesterday’s article. Recently, the Ukrainian political strategist Taras Zahorodniy has also expressed his personal opinion on this matter.

At this time, Ukraine’s main objective is to drive Russian soldiers out of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions so that it can gain control over the coastline.

Therefore, the main thing is to ensure that the occupiers (Russian soldiers) do not get any chance to fight the Ukrainian army.

After attacks on Chongar and on Russian logistics, Crimea is now approaching a complete blockade.

Crimea plays the role of an important military center for Russia’s southern front. If road routes, rail links, fuel depots, and other transport infrastructure remain under continuous pressure, the situation of Russian soldiers stationed in Crimea could gradually become more difficult.

Ukraine will have to carry out more attacks on Crimea so that the Russian army loses all its morale.

They must understand that first they will have to flee from Crimea, exactly as happened on the right bank of the Kherson region in 2022, when the Antonovsky Bridge was destroyed, and the Russians were forced to withdraw from there.

Why is Ukraine not sending its army directly into Crimea right now? According to Taras Zahorodniy, entering Crimea is militarily dangerous.

It would require a very large number of soldiers. Also, even if Ukraine occupies it, Russia can easily drop bombs from above.

There, Ukraine would need to install very expensive air defense systems for protection, which is not easy at the moment. Therefore, the first priority is to liberate Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Amidst all this, recently, Putin signed a law that allows the confiscation of the property of Russian citizens living outside the country who commit “administrative offenses against the interests of the Russian Federation.”

The purpose of this law is to regulate those Russian people who are living outside Russia and reside in foreign lands (Europe, the USA, etc.) as a result of leaving their home country due to the war with Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

Millions of Russians left their homeland during the Ukraine conflict. Many have expressed opposition to President Putin’s administration and war efforts against Ukraine via online social media platforms.

The biggest concern is that the value of the property to be confiscated under this law will not always be limited to the amount of the fine.

For example, even if a relatively small fine is imposed on a person, the process of seizing much more valuable property can still be started.

In practical terms, this law will mainly affect those Russian citizens who still have property, bank accounts, businesses, or other financial interests inside Russia.

If a person has no property in Russia, the direct economic impact of this law may be limited. But for those who have significant assets inside Russia, this law can create a serious legal and financial risk.

Whatever it may be, this is open robbery. In this way, they can now accuse anyone and seize their property.

This reminds me of a statement by France’s very powerful and clever politician, Cardinal Richelieu: “If you give me just six lines written by the hand of the most honest man in the world, I will find something in them to hang him.”

In Russia, nothing called law remains now. The government can take away anyone’s rights whenever it wants.

Due to the war, Russia’s treasury has become empty, so the government now wants to raise money by seizing the houses and bank accounts of emigrants.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko had also confiscated the property of rebels in his country in the same way. Putin is simply copying him.

Putin has become so arrogant and narcissistic that anyone who speaks against him is declared a ‘traitor to the country’. Putin has started considering himself as the whole of Russia.