• Russia has banned diesel exports and will begin importing fuel to address domestic shortages, with President Vladimir Putin calling the crisis temporary.
• Long queues at filling stations in Russia have formed due to a combination of Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries, rising seasonal demand, and increased petrol consumption.
• President Putin accused Ukraine of targeting energy infrastructure to damage Russia's economy, instructing oil companies to share surplus fuel with independent retailers to alleviate shortages.

Russia has banned diesel exports and will begin importing fuel to ease worsening domestic shortages, despite President Vladimir Putin insisting the crisis is only temporary.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told a meeting on the energy sector convened by Putin on Wednesday that the government had halted diesel exports to boost domestic supplies.

"Today, a ban on diesel fuel exports was imposed, and this will allow us to increase supplies to the domestic market," Novak said.

Russia will also begin importing fuel this month to help stabilize the market, he said. Planned maintenance at oil refineries will be postponed to sustain domestic production.

Long queues have formed at filling stations across parts of Russia as motorists struggle to obtain fuel. Novak described the market situation as "challenging."

The shortages have been driven by a wave of Ukrainian attacks that have put numerous Russian oil refineries out of operation. Novak also cited rising seasonal demand linked to the harvest and increased petrol consumption by motorists.

Moscow had already imposed a ban on gasoline exports in April. Despite that measure, many filling stations have since run out of fuel, while others have introduced rationing.

At the meeting, Putin again sought to play down the economic impact of the war he launched against Ukraine, accusing Kiev of seeking to damage Russia's economy and create panic by targeting energy infrastructure.

He said Russia's energy sector had one of the world's largest supply buffers and instructed oil companies not to keep surplus fuel as reserves for their own filling station networks, but to share supplies with independent retailers.

Ukraine's drone and missile strikes on Russian refineries have disrupted a substantial share of the country's fuel processing capacity. What began as a fuel shortage in the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, has now spread to almost every region of the country.