Foreign news agencies report from Kyiv, Ukraine on July 11 that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he has signed a decree establishing a "Long-Range Attack Command" within the military to enhance strikes on strategic targets in Russia. This follows attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure and fuel transportation systems, which led the Moscow government to suspend diesel exports and restrict navigation in the Sea of Azov, which connects to the Black Sea.
Russia’s gasoline crisis is deepening – quite justly – in response to Putin’s reluctance to end this war. We have put forward proposals on how to bring peace closer, and we have support not only among our partners around the world, but also within Putin’s own circle. They… pic.twitter.com/vVwIdfRMS4
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 10, 2026
Over the past several months, Ukraine has used long-range drones to strike multiple energy infrastructure sites inside Russian territory. The government in Kyiv describes this as a "long-range sanctions" measure against key revenue sources for the Moscow government that fund the war, adding that bringing the war back to Russian soil "makes sense" more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to reject calls for peace negotiations and presses on with military operations, even as Ukraine's long-range strikes put increasing pressure on the Russian economy. Sources in the energy industry reveal that Russia's gasoline production capacity has fallen to about 65% of normal capacity.
