All gas stations in the Russian port city of Novorossiysk ran out of gasoline on July 3, the city's Municipal Control Center (MCC) officially reported. Only drivers with fuel cards issued by enterprises for official vehicles can now refuel.
Diesel fuel remains available in limited quantities at just eight stations. To help residents monitor the situation, the MCC launched an online map showing real-time fuel availability at each station. As of midday July 3, according to the map, gasoline had reappeared at some stations, but many reported huge queues of 30 to 100 cars. At some stations, fuel is dispensed only by card, with limits of 20 or 50 liters; others indicated that gasoline was "enough for two hours of operation" or was being sold "on leftovers."
Gasoline prices vary widely, according to the map: AI-92 can be found at 65.55 rubles per liter, while at other stations it reaches 115 rubles; AI-95 costs up to 125 rubles.
Fuel problems in Novorossiysk began as early as June 10. By the end of June, gasoline was available at fewer than 20% of the city's stations. Residents linked the worsening situation in part to an influx of drivers from Crimea, who, after fuel sales on the peninsula stopped, came to the city and bought gasoline in canisters.
One Novorossiysk resident told a local outlet that due to the gasoline shortage, air conditioning on city buses stopped working, taxi prices surged, and noticeably fewer cars were on the streets.
Novorossiysk is one of Russia's largest oil ports, handling transshipment of crude oil and petroleum products, including via the Sheskharis oil harbor and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal. However, the region's major refineries are located in other cities — Tuapse, Afipsky, Ilsky, and Slavyansk-on-Kuban. These facilities have repeatedly been targeted by Ukrainian attacks in recent months. On June 28, Ukraine struck the Slavyansk refinery, sparking a fire. Oil infrastructure in Novorossiysk itself has also been attacked.
According to the analytical agency Energy Intelligence, Russian refining output fell 25% in June compared to the previous year, to 3.91 million barrels per day — the lowest level in more than two decades. Gasoline production dropped 17% year-on-year, to 850,000 barrels per day. Analysts attribute the shortage to Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries, forcing plants to cut or halt production. The scale of downtime, in the words of Energy Intelligence analyst Liam Peach, has become "extraordinary": since March, Ukrainian drones have attacked Russian oil industry facilities at least 50 times.
By early July, gasoline sales restrictions had been introduced in virtually all regions of Russia. President Vladimir Putin on June 28 ordered the development of systemic measures to stabilize the fuel market, noting that the largest refineries are operating at capacity limits. The Energy Ministry estimated Russia's gasoline reserves at 1.7 million tons — only 4% less than a year earlier. Amid the shortage, the government allowed the production and sale of Euro-3 standard gasoline with higher sulfur content until the end of the year.