Russia Hit by New Wave of Fuel Crisis
At least 12 regions report multi-hour queues at gas stations, and authorities impose purchase limits per customer. The situation is worsening amid Ukrainian attacks on refineries.
At least 12 regions report multi-hour queues at gas stations, and authorities impose purchase limits per customer. The situation is worsening amid Ukrainian attacks on refineries.
Russia faced a new wave of fuel crisis in early August, as reports from the regions show, with multi-hour queues at gas stations reappearing in at least 12 of them. Fuel sales restrictions per customer have been reintroduced in the Orenburg Oblast and Sochi, according to the Latvia-based outlet Meduza, citing on-the-ground reports.
In the Orenburg Oblast, Governor Yevgeny Solntsev described the situation as a "difficult fuel situation." Starting August 12, 2026, restrictions were introduced at all gas stations in the region: up to 30 liters of gasoline and up to 60 liters of diesel per customer. Additionally, an odd-even system based on license plates was activated, where vehicles with an even last digit can refuel on even dates, and others on odd dates.
Solntsev also announced the deployment of police officers to "coordinate the situation at gas stations." Meduza reports that fuel quantity limits per customer have also been reinstated in other parts of the country.
The Sochi administration introduced restrictions at gas stations as early as August 11, 2026, citing "logistical disruptions in supply" as the reason. Local residents and tourists have been asked to "refrain from traveling by private vehicle where possible" to reduce pressure on gas stations.
According to the media project 7×7, fuel queues are again being reported in at least 12 regions: Krasnodar Krai, Voronezh, Kaluga, Rostov, Ryazan, Tambov, Tula, Saratov, Smolensk, Penza, and Ulyanovsk Oblasts, as well as Primorye.
In addition to queues, regions are also reporting gasoline shortages and the closure of some gas stations, as reported by residents of Krasnoyarsk Krai and Bashkortostan. Meduza also points to indirect signs of price increases, particularly in regions recently visited by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In Krasnoyarsk, gasoline prices at some stations of a regional network suddenly dropped by 24 rubles per liter the day before Putin's visit. The network attributed this to "temporary logistics improvements" and "delivery of additional fuel directly from the refinery," but prices returned to previous levels immediately after his departure.
Russian authorities have not officially reported on the new wave of crisis. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees the fuel industry, held a meeting on August 11 about the situation on the domestic market. Following the meeting, relevant agencies, regional authorities, and oil companies were instructed to "continue coordinated efforts to supply the domestic market with fuel."
In early June 2026, Novak for the first time acknowledged a decline in Russian oil refining since the beginning of the year, attributing it to "unscheduled maintenance" at refineries. The Russian government later claimed that the fuel market had "partially stabilized" thanks to the export ban on petroleum products and a shift to fuel imports, but the situation remains tense in several regions.
The motor fuel shortage, which earlier hit occupied Sevastopol and Crimea, has now spread to the Moscow Oblast. In temporarily occupied Sevastopol, fuel will again be sold using QR codes, and the system will remain in place "until supply allows fuel sales without restrictions."
While Russia grapples with the fuel crisis, its forces continue military operations. According to the Russian state agency TASS, on August 12, 2026, Russian forces struck a Ukrainian patrol boat in the port of Ochakiv in the Mykolaiv Oblast.
