Russia has faced deepening fuel shortages since early June as Ukraine has intensified what it calls its “long-range sanctions” — long-range drone and missile strikes targeting the country’s energy infrastructure.
The attacks have forced Russian authorities to introduce fuel rationing across large parts of the country, draw on strategic reserves and consider the rare step of importing gasoline, highlighting the growing strain on Russia’s domestic fuel market more than four years into the war.
– Fuel restrictions spread across Russia
Russian authorities have imposed fuel sales restrictions in more than 40 regions, citing high demand and supply disruptions.
The measures affect the Russian republics of Bashkortostan, Altai, Tatarstan, Dagestan, Chuvashia, Sakha and Adygea, among others.
Sales limits vary by region and fuel supplier. The strictest restrictions have been imposed in Zabaykalsky Krai, where motorists are limited to 15 liters of gasoline per vehicle.
In the Omsk region, authorities limited purchases to 40 liters of gasoline and 80 liters of diesel per vehicle while requiring fuel to be dispensed directly into vehicle tanks. In the Kaliningrad region, motorists are limited to 30 liters of gasoline and 60 liters of diesel per vehicle.
Several regions have prioritized available fuel for emergency services, public transport, municipalities, agricultural enterprises and other government agencies.
Authorities in the Penza and Irkutsk regions, as well as Zabaykalsky Krai, have declared a high-alert regime to stabilize the domestic fuel and energy market.
Russia’s largest fuel retailers have also imposed their own restrictions. In Moscow and the surrounding region, Gazprom and Lukoil have capped purchases at 30 liters of gasoline per vehicle. In the Tver region, temporary restrictions apply to individuals at Surgutneftegaz and Tatneft filling stations, while corporate customers remain exempt. Tatneft, meanwhile, introduced nationwide temporary limits of 30 liters of gasoline, 60 liters of diesel and 300 liters of diesel for trucks.
The most severe shortages have been reported in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Russia-installed authorities in Crimea and the port city of Sevastopol declared a state of emergency last week to ensure the uninterrupted operation of essential services. Earlier, local authorities suspended fuel sales to private individuals and commercial businesses across the peninsula, reserving supplies for government agencies and organizations responsible for critical infrastructure and public safety.
As shortages spread, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mocked long lines at gas stations across Russia and questioned whether Moscow had the situation under control.
“Russians themselves, standing in lines for gasoline in different regions of Russia, can actually see that their ‘three-day war’ is now in its fifth year and has reached the point where even an oil state, a gas station, as Russia used to be called, is now facing gasoline shortages,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address.
– Ukraine’s campaign against Russia’s energy sector
Ukraine said its strikes on Russian oil refineries and fuel depots are intended to reduce Moscow’s ability to sustain its war effort, describing fuel shortages as one consequence of the years of conflict.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, Kyiv struck 16 major Russian oil refineries and fuel terminals between January and June, disabling more than 30% of Russia’s oil-refining capacity.
In May alone, Ukraine targeted eight major refineries, including the Kirishinefteorgsintez refinery, Russia’s second-largest, with a processing capacity of about 20 million metric tons annually, or roughly 400,000 barrels per day.
Ukraine also struck the Ryazan refinery, which accounts for nearly 5% of Russia’s refining capacity, and Lukoil’s Nizhny Novgorod refinery, the country’s fourth-largest refinery and second-largest gasoline producer.
In June, Kyiv expanded the campaign to include Gazprom Neft’s Moscow Oil Refinery, the main fuel supplier to the Moscow region, and the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal, one of Russia’s largest energy transshipment hubs on the Black Sea.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would continue responding to Russian attacks “in a completely just manner” and seek to weaken Russia’s “state system” and its ability to sustain the war.
– Moscow seeks to stabilize fuel supplies
As Ukrainian attacks continued, Russia began drawing on state fuel reserves to stabilize domestic supplies and is considering banning diesel exports, underscoring growing pressure on its energy infrastructure.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced Tuesday that Moscow was preparing to import gasoline, a rare step for a country that last imported large volumes of fuel in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. In subsequent decades, imports became sporadic and were largely limited to premium-grade gasoline.
President Vladimir Putin acknowledged Sunday that Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure had contributed to fuel shortages but insisted the situation remained under control.
“We are currently seeing a certain shortage, but it’s not critical,” Putin said, adding that damaged energy facilities were being restored quickly.
Speaking at a meeting on fuel supplies, Putin said Russia’s gasoline reserves stood at 1.7 million metric tons, down 4% from a year earlier.
“I’ll add that previously accumulated fuel volumes have entered the domestic market,” he said. “However, despite the fact that we’ve begun using these reserves, gasoline reserves are currently almost at the same level as last year.”
The government has also adopted regulatory measures to increase domestic fuel availability.
It authorized the circulation of lower-grade Euro 3 gasoline through the end of the year, allowing additional fuel volumes that do not meet EU technical standards since 2005 to be sold exclusively on the Russian domestic market.
