Russia hit by new wave of fuel crisis

A new wave of the fuel crisis appears to have hit Russia at the beginning of August, judging by reports from the regions, amid Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries.

Source: Meduza, a Latvia-based Russian media outlet

Quote: "Residents of various regions – from the south to Primorye – are reporting queues at petrol stations. Restrictions on fuel sales per customer have once again been introduced in Orenburg Oblast and Sochi."

Details: In addition, the Sochi administration has asked residents and tourists to avoid using private vehicles. Other regions are also experiencing problems with petrol supplies.

According to the 7×7 media project, at least 12 regions are once again seeing hours-long queues for fuel at petrol stations. Journalists name Krasnodar Krai, Voronezh, Kaluga, Rostov, Ryazan, Tambov, Tula, Saratov, Smolensk, Penza and Ulyanovsk oblasts, as well as Primorye.

Restrictions on the amount of petrol sold to each customer have also returned, Meduza reports.

On 11 August, the Sochi administration said that limits had been introduced at petrol stations in the region "due to logistical disruptions in supplies". In addition, local residents and tourists were asked to "refrain from travelling by private vehicle where possible" in order to reduce pressure on petrol stations.

In Orenburg Oblast, Governor Yevgeny Solntsev reported a "difficult situation with fuel". From 12 August, limits have also been introduced at all petrol stations in the oblast – up to 30 litres of petrol and up to 60 litres of diesel – along with an odd-even number plate system.

Under the system, vehicles with number plates ending in an even digit can refuel on even-numbered days, while the others can do so on odd-numbered days. Solntsev also promised to deploy police officers "to coordinate the situation at petrol stations".

"In addition, regions are reporting shortages of petrol and the closure of some petrol stations – residents of Krasnoyarsk Krai and Bashkortostan have reported this. There has also been an increase in prices, as indicated by some indirect signs – particularly in regions recently visited by Vladimir Putin," the report says.

In Krasnoyarsk, petrol prices at some stations in the regional network fell sharply – by 24 roubles per litre – the day before Putin's visit.

The petrol station network itself attributed the price reduction to a "temporary improvement in logistics" and the "supply of an additional volume of fuel directly from the refinery". However, immediately after Putin's departure, prices returned to their previous level, the publication reports.

The authorities have not officially reported a new wave of the crisis. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees the fuel industry, held a meeting on the domestic market situation on 11 August.

Following the meeting, relevant government agencies, regional authorities and oil companies were instructed to "continue coordinated efforts to supply the domestic market with fuel".

Background:

• Earlier, it was reported that a fuel crisis was spreading across Russia and the occupied territories amid continued Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries: the shortage of motor fuel, which had previously affected occupied Sevastopol and Crimea, had spread to Moscow Oblast.
• In temporarily occupied Sevastopol, fuel will once again be sold using QR codes – the system will remain in place "until supplies allow fuel to be sold without restrictions".
• At the beginning of June, Novak admitted for the first time that Russian oil processing had fallen since the beginning of 2026 due to "unplanned maintenance" at refineries.
• Later, the Russian government claimed that the fuel market had "partially stabilised" thanks to a ban on petroleum product exports and a shift towards fuel imports, but the situation remains tense in a number of regions.

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