Investor Bill Ackman on Sunday shared comments from exiled Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who warned that Russia was facing a growing fuel crisis as repeated refinery attacks by Ukraine and logistical bottlenecks disrupt gasoline and diesel supplies across the country.
Khodorkovsky said the problem was not crude oil production but the country’s ability to refine fuel and distribute it across regions, warning that the Kremlin’s response has worsened the shortages.
Ackman Says Khodorkovsky ‘Understands’ Russia’s Fuel Crisis
“The Russian fuel crisis from someone who understands it,” Ackman said in a post on X.
The Russian fuel crisis from someone who understands it. https://t.co/VTnIdBAHSi
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) July 5, 2026
Khodorkovsky, who once led Yukos, then Russia’s largest oil company, before being imprisoned in 2003 and leaving Russia after receiving a presidential pardon a decade later, shared a series of posts on X with videos of long queues of frustrated Russians at gas stations.
He said the crisis stemmed from “the breakdown… in logistics and decision-making,” adding that fuel shortages had spread to regions “thousands of kilometers from the front.”
“Moving fuel across a country this size means pipelines, rail tankers, trucks, state reserves, company stocks. Someone has to decide what goes where, and quickly,” Khodorkovsky added.
Refinery Attacks Strain Domestic Fuel Supplies
More than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has increasingly targeted Russian refineries and other energy infrastructure with long-range drone strikes aimed at disrupting Moscow’s military logistics and fuel supplies.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that the country was “going through a difficult period” as Ukrainian drone strikes targeted their refineries.
President Donald Trump held a nearly 90-minute call with Putin on Saturday to help broker a resolution to the Ukraine war.
Khodorkovsky said Ukrainian drones were striking “practically every major refinery in the European part of Russia” and warned that the fuel crisis could deepen if the attacks continued.
He said the Kremlin had ruled out market-based pricing and coordinated fuel redistribution, instead lowered the fuel quality standards to ease shortages.
“No Ukrainian drones have done as much damage to the Russian economy as Russia’s own government,” Khodorkovsky added.
Russia Remains A Major Oil Exporter
Russia is one of the world’s largest crude oil producers, pumping roughly 9 million barrels per day.
China and India are Russia’s largest crude buyers, replacing much of the European demand lost after sanctions reshaped global oil trade.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo: Hamara On Shutterstock.com
