Putin Faces 12 New Strikes on Shadow Fleet Ships, Bringing Weekly Total to 47 Amidst Russia's Fuel Crisis

VLADIMIR Putin’s shadow fleet ships have been blitzed with 12 new attacks overnight, as 47 of Russia’s vessels are hit in one week.

Mad Vlad’s tankers bring fuel to occupied Crimea and other Russian occupied regions, and export the liquid gold to fund the Kremlin’s faltering war machine .

A dozen of Putin’s shadow fleet ships have been blitzed overnight Credit: East2West Ukraine also attacked Taganrog port, which ships oil to occupied Crimea Credit: East2West Recent attacks on the fleet have left Russia in the grips of a fuel crisis Credit: Unmanned Systems Forces Ukraine has launched fresh strikes on Russian tankers Credit: East2West

But recent attacks on the fleet have left in the grips of a fuel crisis, with brawls breaking out at petrol stations and huge queues clogging up roads.

Most of the were tankers shipping fuel to Crimea and other Russian-controlled territories, as tries to choke off supplies to the regions.

And petrol pumps are running dry across Russia, leading to buying bans across the country.

As attacks on refineries ramp up, exports have stalled too, cutting off the Kremlin’s cash from sales of sanctioned fuel.

The crisis is “catastrophic”, one report warned, as the Kremlin scrambled to cover up the calamitous consequences of the .

Independent Russian outlet Meduza warned: “The authorities are trying to keep information about the extent of the damage to Russian oil refineries secret.”

Their investigators have studied the data, and say it shows a complete “collapse” of Russian fuel supplies.

Even before the most recent strikes, the volume of trading dropped to 53 per cent of January’s level, and the prices rocketed up to 146 per cent.

Dramatic footage also showed Ukrainian drones targeting military trucks filled with Russian occupiers in the Luhansk region Credit: East2West Drones also targeted the Ilsky Oil Refinery, which normally produces 138,000 barrels of oil a day Credit: East2West Recent attacks on the fleet have left Russia in the grips of a fuel crisis Credit: East2West Most of the 47 vessels obliterated this week were tankers shipping fuel to Crimea and other Russian-controlled territories Credit: East2West

It comes as Ukraine staged huge overnight strikes on Taganrog port in southwestern Russia, which ships fuel to occupied Crimea.

The attack ignited an inferno at the Kurgannefteprodukt oil depot, sparking an urgent evacuation of residents.

Another oil depot was blitzed in the river port Azov, in the Rostov region.

A secret defence factory that pumps out high-precision military sighting and targeting systems for Russia, the Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant, was also struck.

also targeted the Ilsky Oil Refinery, which normally produces 138,000 barrels of oil a day.

The depot was set ablaze after the attack on the Taganrog port.

Dramatic footage shows shadow fleet tanker Sanar-17 in flames.

The vessel was among the ships that were “completely destroyed” by the strike, with others suffering critical damage.

Dramatic footage also showed Ukrainian drones targeting military trucks filled with Russian occupiers in the Luhansk region.

The carnage caused by Ukrainian drones has caused the Kremlin to import supplies, despite Russia being the world’s second largest oil producer.

Ukrainian President mocked the Kremlin, saying: “If [first Russian president Boris] Yeltsin had known that, as a result of the war, Russia would be importing fuel, he would have chosen a different successor [to Putin]. This is a joke.”

Putin also faces “critical” damage to Russia’s harvest with the fuel shortage hitting farmers hard.

Shortages of fuel for combine harvesters have hit southern regions of Russia particularly hard.