THE COST OF WAR: Parts of Russia face gasoline shortages after Ukraine struck refineries.

Since early August, Ukraine has targeted a number of oil refineries including Novokuibyshevsk, Syzran, Ryazan and Volgograd in response to Moscow’s missile and drone attacks.

In Russia’s far eastern region of Primorye, local media reported lines stretching back kilometres (miles) as motorists queued to fill up with gasoline. Authorities blamed an influx of tourists.

NNK, an oil company, said many of its gasoline carriers in the region were stuck in traffic jams for three to six hours at a time due to repair works on the roads, according to local media.

Yevgeny Balitsky, Moscow-appointed governor of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, which is mostly under Russian control, said on Thursday that gasoline retail sales in several areas were suffering problems because of peak demand and refinery maintenance.

“In the Zaporizhzhia region, the fuel shortage is further complicated by logistics issues and the threat of enemy attacks on fuel trains,” he said.

If you’d like more details than Reuters can provide, there are plenty of them on this X thread.

This seems relevant, too: Trump suggests Ukraine should attack Russia to win war.

“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country. It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defence, but is not allowed to play offence. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia,” Mr Trump wrote in his Truth Social website.

“Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out?”

I’d rather Trump wrangle an equitable armistice, but since Putin seems determined to slow walk the peace process, I’m very curious to see how Kyiv’s systematic attacks on Russia’s energy oil infrastructure pan out.