Putin Backs Extra Fuel Deliveries, Airfare Subsidies, and More Ferries for Kaliningrad as Gasoline Lines Grow Across Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to prioritize additional fuel supplies to the Kaliningrad exclave and to allocate federal funds for airfare subsidies and new ferries for the region. The decision comes amid a worsening fuel crisis across Russia, triggered by Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that during a meeting in Moscow, Kaliningrad Governor Alexei Besprozvannykh asked Vladimir Putin to prioritize additional fuel deliveries to the exclave, and the president agreed. Putin also backed the governor's request to contribute federal funds to airfare subsidies for Kaliningrad residents—a traditional form of support, according to Peskov—and to procure more ferries for the region.
Since the end of May, Russia's fuel crisis has intensified due to increased Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries. Almost all regions of the country have imposed limits on gasoline and diesel sales. In some areas, residents have had to drive from station to station in search of fuel and wait in lines for hours. In Kaliningrad, fuel sale restrictions took effect on June 25.
