The First Real Crack in Putin’s Armor

For four years Putin projected nothing but confidence. This weekend that cracked: he admitted Russia faces a fuel deficit as Ukrainian drones torched yet another refinery. The Kremlin insists the front is unaffected — but it’s now rationing fuel across multiple regions, racing to repair plants, and scrambling to build the air defenses needed to guard sites it can’t all protect at once. Ukraine’s “long-range sanctions” are forcing Moscow into choices it can’t win.