Russia’s fuel crisis is back, with queues and gasoline rationing returning across the country — Meduza

In early August, judging by reports from the regions, a new wave of the fuel crisis hit Russia following Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries. Residents of various regions, from the south to the Far East, report lines at gas stations. Limits on how much fuel a person can buy at a time have returned in Orenburg Region and Sochi. The Sochi city administration also asked residents and tourists not to use personal vehicles. Meduza looks at which regions are still experiencing fuel supply problems.

Gas stations in at least 12 Russian regions are once again reporting hours-long lines for fuel, according to a count by the news outlet 7×7. The regions include Krasnodar Krai, the Voronezh, Kaluga, Rostov, Ryazan, Tambov, Tula, Saratov, Smolensk, Penza, and Ulyanovsk regions, as well as Primorsky Krai.

Purchase limits have also returned. The Sochi city administration announced August 11 that gas stations in the region had imposed limits “due to logistical disruptions in fuel supply,” and it asked local residents and tourists to “refrain from using personal vehicles whenever possible” to ease the strain on gas stations.

In the Orenburg region, Governor Yevgeny Solntsev reported a “difficult situation with fuel.” Starting August 12, gas stations there capped purchases at 30 liters (about 8 gallons) of gasoline and 60 liters (about 16 gallons) of diesel and adopted an “odd-even” system: drivers with license plates ending in an even digit can fill up on even-numbered days, while everyone else fills up on odd-numbered days. Solntsev also promised to bring in police officers “to coordinate the situation at gas stations.”

Authorities have also reinstated odd-even refueling in the Lipetsk region. The system will take effect on August 13, Governor Igor Artamonov announced. At the same time, the region introduced a 30-liter fuel limit at Gazprom, Lukoil, Teboil, and Rosneft gas stations.

Residents of Krasnoyarsk Krai and Bashkortostan also report gasoline shortages and the closure of some gas stations. There are indirect signs of rising prices as well, particularly in the regions Vladimir Putin has visited in recent days.

In Krasnoyarsk, gasoline prices at some stations in a regional chain dropped sharply — by 24 rubles per liter — a day before Putin’s visit. The chain attributed the drop to “a temporary improvement in logistics” and “additional fuel supplies coming directly from refineries.” Prices returned to their previous level as soon as the president left.

In Novosibirsk, where Putin traveled next, his motorcade stopped near an empty gas station — it’s unclear whether by chance or intentionally — where children were waiting for the president, and he spoke with them. Kremlin pool reporter Pavel Zarubin filmed the moment, and the footage, widely circulated by media outlets, shows that the station’s price board was turned off.

Few reports have surfaced so far from Moscow and St. Petersburg, though a Business FM follower said she encountered a shortage of AI-95 gasoline at several Rosneft stations while driving to her dacha along the Dmitrovskoye Highway.

Authorities have not officially acknowledged a new wave of the crisis. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees the fuel sector, held a meeting August 11 on the situation in the domestic market. Afterward, relevant agencies, regional authorities, and oil companies were instructed to “continue coordinated efforts to supply the domestic market with fuel,” monitor price trends, and ensure “uninterrupted delivery” of gasoline to consumers.