Putin promised to respond to Ukrainian strikes on Russia "several times stronger"
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that in response to Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian territory, Russia would launch even more massive strikes on Ukraine. According to him, the response would be symmetrical but several times stronger, and, as he claims, the Ukrainian side is already feeling the consequences of such actions, The Moscow Times reports .
Vladimir Putin. Photo: Sefa Karacan / Anadolu via Getty Images
"Wherever they try to strike on the territory of the Russian Federation, we will respond symmetrically, only several times more powerfully. The enemy will feel it. Already feels it, I hope," Putin said.
Putin also admitted that attacks on Russian oil refineries caused difficulties with fuel supply in the country. However, in his opinion, the situation is gradually stabilizing thanks to a strong energy infrastructure.
In addition, he reported that Russia, allegedly, is creating a new fuel supply system to Crimea, which, according to him, will be better protected from possible strikes. At the same time, he did not provide any details about it or its launch timeline.
Fuel problems in Russia arose after a series of Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries and other oil infrastructure facilities. On July 6, even the Omsk Refinery — the largest in the country — was attacked, and earlier, other large enterprises in various regions of Russia were affected by strikes. Some plants were forced to temporarily stop operations or reduce oil processing volumes.
Against this backdrop, many regions of the country experienced difficulties with fuel sales. In several Russian regions, restrictions on gasoline sales were introduced, in others, there were reports of supply disruptions, closure of individual gas stations, and rising prices.
According to the statement by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, in the first six months of 2026, Ukrainian military personnel struck 697 targets on the territory of Russia. According to his estimate, the direct and indirect economic losses from these attacks exceeded 6.1 billion US dollars.