Watching the price tick higher as he filled up his car, Russian pensioner Oleg railed against the recent surge in petrol prices, pushed higher by Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure.

Kyiv has been targeting Russian refineries for months, calling the attacks fair retribution for Moscow’s own barrages and an attempt to cut off energy revenues that fund Russia’s army.

Over the summer, a wave of strikes hit processing capacity at several key facilities, pushing fuel prices higher and leading to shortages.

“Little-by-little, but very frequently, the price of fuel is going up. Everybody has noticed,” Oleg, 62, told AFP.

Since ordering troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has tried to shelter Russians from the economic fallout of its offensive.

Sanctions have failed

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