TANKING FORTUNES

Humiliated Putin’s Crisis Explodes in His Face

Russia’s warplanes are using shoddy imported fuel.

Vladimir Putin’s military planes are blowing up because of substandard imported fuel they’re forced to use after the success of Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.

Ukrainian intelligence said on Friday that a Russian SU-57 fighter jet had crashed after engine problems at the Astrakhan region’s Akhtubinsk airfield. Ukraine said the plane had likely malfunctioned because it had used the wrong kind of jet fuel.

“One of the reasons why engines of this type can explode or suffer catastrophic failure is poor-quality fuel,” it said in a release.

The malfunction is an embarrassment for the Kremlin, as the SU-57, Russia’s most advanced fighter jet, costs around $140 million.

Ukrainian intelligence added that the same kind of fuel is used to power other Russian fighter planes and airborne weapons key to its campaign in Ukraine, including the Geran 4 and 5 jet-powered drones.

The agency pointed out that Russia is being forced to use fuel imported from countries including India, Egypt and South Korea following the success of long-range Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.

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According to figures from the International Energy Agency, Ukraine has launched more than 300 attacks on Russian refineries this year, successfully striking more than two dozen. Late October and early November have seen a new wave of attacks. Over the weekend, Ukraine hit Russia’s Kstovo refinery in Nizhny Novgorod, setting it ablaze, as well as a refinery in the Samara region.

Ukraine claims to have knocked out half of Russia’s refining capacity this year, causing front-line Russian fuel shortages in Ukraine. Russia is the world’s third-largest oil producer, but in August imports rose to record levels amid the Ukrainian attacks. In response, Russia has banned aviation fuel exports.

It’s one of several blowbacks Putin is facing over his Ukraine campaign, as domestic inflation spikes and long queues of motorists have been pictured at gas stations because of the fuel crisis.

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Ukraine’s bombing campaign has enraged Trump, who has sought to pin blame on Ukraine for U.S. gas price increases, which are in fact caused by his war with Iran.

He has sought to pressure Ukraine into stopping the strikes, but Ukraine has resisted the pressure, launching new attacks in recent weeks.

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Tom PorterBreaking News Reporter

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