Fuel shortages and purchase limits reappear in multiple Russian regions after refinery attacks
Gas stations in at least a dozen Russian regions are reporting long queues and renewed purchase caps following Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries, prompting local authorities to reintroduce odd-even fueling rules.
Long lines at gas stations have re-emerged in at least 12 Russian regions, including Krasnodar Krai, Voronezh, Kaluga, Rostov, Ryazan, Tambov, Tula, Saratov, Smolensk, Penza, Ulyanovsk and Primorsky Krai, after Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries disrupted supplies.
In Sochi, the city administration announced on August 11 that stations imposed purchase limits because of logistical disruptions and urged residents and tourists to avoid using personal vehicles when possible.
Orenburg Governor Yevgeny Solntsev said a “difficult situation with fuel” led to caps of 30 liters of gasoline and 60 liters of diesel per customer, along with an odd-even licence-plate system starting August 12, and pledged police assistance to manage stations.
Lipetsk Governor Igor Artamonov reinstated an odd-even scheme on August 13 and set a 30-liter limit at stations operated by Gazprom, Lukoil, Teboil and Rosneft.
Residents of Krasnoyarsk Krai and Bashkortostan reported shortages and some station closures. In Krasnoyarsk, gasoline prices fell by 24 rubles per litre a day before President Vladimir Putin’s visit, a change the regional chain attributed to a temporary logistics improvement and additional refinery supplies; prices rose again after the visit.
In Novosibirsk, a station near where Putin’s motorcade stopped displayed a turned-off price board, and a reporter captured the scene as the president spoke with children waiting nearby.
Reports of shortages in Moscow and St. Petersburg are limited, though a Business FM listener noted a lack of AI-95 gasoline at several Rosneft stations while traveling to a dacha on the Dmitrovskoye Highway.