Russians Queue 18 Hours for Petrol as Ukraine Drone Strikes Hit 83 Regions
Russia’s fuel crisis has spread to nearly all 83 regions, with drivers waiting up to 18 hours for gasoline after Ukrainian drone strikes crippled the country’s oil refineries and supply networks.
Almost every one of Russia’s 83 regions is now facing gasoline shortages or supply disruptions, according to reports from the ground [191627]. The crisis, which first emerged in Russian-controlled Crimea, has forced gas stations to ration fuel using QR codes linked to vehicle registrations, limiting how much each driver can buy [190912]. In some areas, lines stretch for hours as stations run low, and tempers have boiled over: in the Siberian town of Ust-Ordynsky, a police officer drew his pistol after a black Audi cut past dozens of cars that had already waited five hours [191122].
The shortages are a direct result of a sustained Ukrainian drone campaign targeting oil refineries and fuel storage facilities across the country [190912]. Fuel storage sites have been burning from southern Russia to Moscow, as anti-drone nets and electronic countermeasures fail to stop the attacks [192536]. Russia’s gasoline production has dropped to 65 percent of summer demand, and the government has banned all diesel exports [193650].
The crisis is now affecting Russia’s agricultural sector. Farmers in the southern breadbasket are running out of diesel just as harvest season begins, with fuel limits and spiking prices threatening to delay grain gathering [193964]. The disruption also extends beyond Russia’s borders: reduced diesel and gasoline output has forced Moscow to cut shipments to neighboring Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, which now report shortages and rising prices [192304].
Alyona, a Russian driver, joined a petrol queue at 11 pm and did not get served until 5 pm the next day—an 18-hour wait that has become common across the country [190825].