Russian strikes wound six in Ukraine; fuel crisis deepens in Siberia

Six people were injured in Russian air strikes across Ukraine overnight, authorities reported Tuesday, as the war grinds on and a deepening fuel crisis grips parts of Siberia.

The strikes followed a Ukrainian attack on Monday that hit a plant producing electronics for missiles in Russia's border region of Voronezh, killing five people and injuring dozens, according to the local governor. Russia and Ukraine have continued to exchange attacks as the conflict enters its fifth year.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is actively seeking support from Western allies for a peace deal while also pushing for accelerated admission to the European Union. In southeastern Ukraine, Governor Ivan Fedorov stated that two people required medical attention after Russian forces struck the Zaporizhzhia region. In the north, emergency services reported three more wounded in Sumy late Monday. Earlier that evening, Mayor Ihor Terekhov of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, reported one woman injured in a drone attack.

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to avoid artificially creating panic buying at gas stations and speculation

Kyiv authorities briefly issued an air raid alert early Tuesday before withdrawing it. Zelenskyy had warned last week that Russia was preparing for a massive attack, a claim Moscow has stated it would conduct regularly. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Reuters has been unable to independently verify the details of the latest strikes.

Ukrainian attacks on maritime logistics and supply routes have exacerbated a fuel crisis in Russia and Ukrainian territories it controls. Kyiv's intensified air strikes targeting Russian energy infrastructure have reached targets as far as Siberia, over 2,000 kilometers from the front lines. This has undermined the availability of gasoline and diesel in Russia, the world's third-largest oil producer. The fuel crisis has spread from Russia-annexed Crimea to central and eastern regions, and now includes Siberian areas like Novosibirsk and Omsk. Local governors announced restrictions on fuel sales to prevent panic buying and speculation. In Omsk, sales are limited to 40 liters per car and 80-200 liters for diesel, with sales in canisters banned. The Novosibirsk region is preparing similar restrictions. Lukoil, Russia's second-largest oil producer, began limiting fuel sales in the Voronezh region on Tuesday.

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to prevent speculative demand