As of August 16, gasoline and diesel fuel were available at only 28% of Russian gas stations included in the database of the “GdeBenz” app. This was reported by the pro-government newspaper “Izvestia”, which analyzed the service’s data.
Last week, according to “GdeBenz”, fuel was available at 41% of gas stations. Over the week, the availability of gasoline and diesel decreased in the Volgograd, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Voronezh, Samara, Penza, Saratov, Lipetsk, and Rostov regions, as well as in Tatarstan.
Fuel problems in the regions
According to the “Agency”, last week the authorities of at least eight regions of Russia reported problems at gas stations — fuel shortages and the formation of queues. In addition, media and social network users reported fuel problems in 13 more regions.
On August 17, “Izvestia” correspondents checked the availability of fuel at 21 gas stations in Moscow and the Moscow region: A-92 gasoline was available at seven gas stations, A-95 at six, and A-98 at only five. “Even diesel is not available everywhere,” the pro-government publication notes. An RBC correspondent visited ten gas stations in Moscow, and fuel was available at only two of them.
Statements by the minister and causes of the crisis
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilyov stated on August 18 that gasoline and diesel fuel are available at Russian gas stations. At the same time, he acknowledged that queues are forming at gas stations. According to him, the government is “actively working to solve this problem.”
One of the causes of the fuel crisis in Russia is Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities.
The first wave of the crisis lasted from the end of May. At that time, fuel sales restrictions were introduced across the country, and residents were forced to stand in multi-hour queues at gas stations. By mid-July, the restrictions began to be gradually eased.
A new wave of the fuel crisis began in August when Ukrainian drones resumed attacks on oil refineries.
