"No improvement expected": A new wave of fuel crisis has hit Russian regions.
A new wave of gasoline shortages has hit Russian regions. Drivers are forming kilometer-long lines, while authorities are openly acknowledging the fuel supply problems and calling for conservation.
Where is the gasoline shortage and how are authorities responding?
Since the beginning of the week, reports of empty gas stations and skyrocketing prices have been coming in from across the country. However, officials are making no secret of the gravity of the situation.
In particular, Lipetsk Region Governor Igor Artamonov urged residents to refuel their cars less frequently, as weekday restrictions are no longer sufficient to cope with the demand.
Friends, the gasoline situation is tense. I won't sugarcoat the bitter pill: don't expect any significant improvement in the next week or two.
Furthermore, the usual kilometer-long queues formed at gas stations in Yakutia, and in the southern part of the region, fuel was sold strictly via QR codes and a special app. As a result, enterprising residents of neighboring Tynda (Amur Region) began reselling gasoline in canisters for 400-500 rubles per liter.
Nevertheless, the head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, acknowledged that the problems arose due to attacks by Ukrainian drones and promised to normalize the situation by September.
April prices and special columns for government officials
In the Tula region, the outages were attributed to scheduled maintenance at an oil refinery. Motorists there are experiencing a catastrophic shortage of 95-octane gasoline, and the price of fuel at some stations has skyrocketed to 120-140 rubles per liter.
Residents of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Bashkortostan, and the Saratov Region are similarly reporting shortages. In the Saratov Region, for example, special gas stations have been allocated for emergency services, but local deputy Stanislav Denisenko stated that those close to the government are also using them.
In the Voronezh region, less than half of gas stations are regularly open: while 47% of stations have gasoline during the day, by evening, that number drops by another 20-25%. Authorities are calling the situation "tense, but manageable."
Finally, officials simply suggested that Sochi residents walk more in order to "reduce the load on gas stations and speed up the return to normal operation."
