Russia’s fuel crisis is spreading across the country. Here’s where gasoline sales are now restricted.
A fuel crisis is unfolding in Russia. Ukrainian drones have struck oil refineries across the country in a sustained campaign, forcing facilities to suspend or cut production. Fuel shortages have appeared at gas stations across various parts of the country, though authorities have repeatedly blamed the lines at pumps on “panic buying” rather than an actual shortage.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told President Putin that the situation on the fuel market was under control, while also acknowledging “periodically arising objective logistical problems in certain regions and at certain gas stations.” According to official statements, Novak made no mention of Ukrainian drone strikes as the reason refineries were producing less fuel. Rosneft chief Igor Sechin took a different approach. In a letter to Putin, he described an “unprecedented amount of damage” to Russian refineries caused by drone strikes — and separately prepared his own list of measures to address the crisis.
The measures authorities have attempted so far have produced no visible results. Every day, fuel sales are restricted in different parts of Russia. Some areas have banned only the sale of gasoline in jerry cans; others have capped the number of liters per vehicle. Authorities in some regions — including Moscow and St. Petersburg — say the restrictions are being imposed not by them but by gas station chains.
Below is a list of regions where official restrictions were in effect as of midday on June 24. It does not include regions where residents have reported fuel shortages but where authorities have not yet officially announced any restrictions.
- Adygea
- the Belgorod region
- the Bryansk region
- the Vladimir region
- the Vologda region
- the Irkutsk region
- the Kursk region
- the Kurgan region
- the Omsk region
- the Penza region
- the Samara region
- the Saratov region
- Stavropol Krai
- the Lipetsk region
- Mordovia
- the Novosibirsk region
- the Tambov region
- Tatarstan
- Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District
- Chuvashia
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.