Ukraine to end fuel shortages soon, Zelenskiy says

By Oleksandr Kozhukhar

(Reuters) – Ukraine will soon stamp out fuel shortages, even though Russian forces have damaged a number of oil depots, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.

This week, Russia struck Ukraine’s main fuel producer, the Kremenchuk oil refinery, as well as several other large depots.

“Queues and rising prices at gas stations are seen in many regions of our country,” Zelenskiy said in a nightly video speech. “The occupiers are deliberately destroying the infrastructure for the production, supply and storage of fuel.

“Russia has also blocked our ports, so there are no immediate solutions to replenish the deficit,” he added.

“But government officials promise that within a week, maximum two, a system of fuel supply to Ukraine will be at work that will prevent shortages.”

In a statement, Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the shortages would be eliminated within a week, as Ukraine’s operators had secured contracts with European suppliers.

(Writing in Melbourne by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)