In a video published by Pavel Zarubin, host of the state television program 'Moscow. Kremlin. Putin', the president said: 'Yes, of course, there are certain inconveniences for people, but the government, of course, must keep this under control.' He added that 'not all issues have been resolved yet, but they are being resolved' and announced the creation of a special commission, with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin overseeing the matter.
According to data from the fuel tracking service 'Gde BENZ', analyzed by the outlet Agentstvo, more than 30% of gas stations in Moscow and the immediate Moscow region are out of fuel. In Rostov-on-Don and Samara, shortages were recorded at 40% of stations. In eight of the 12 major cities analyzed, the situation worsened over the weekend.
The portal BenZinMap, which aggregates reports from media outlets, indicated that as of August 23, 63 of 85 regions had imposed restrictions on gasoline sales, with 19 experiencing local disruptions or price increases. Fuel purchase limits have even appeared in Moscow: Gazprom Neft restricted gasoline and diesel sales to 40 liters per vehicle, Tatneft to 50 and 60 liters respectively, and Rosneft introduced a 30-liter limit per car at all its stations.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed that authorities are seeing a 'second stage of tension' in the fuel market. The crisis has worsened following a new wave of Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries: in the first half of August, at least nine facilities with a combined capacity of 145 million tons per year were attacked, and at least four have halted operations. According to estimates by Rystad, processing volumes are running a third below seasonal norms.
To address the situation, the government has banned fuel exports, increased gasoline imports from Belarus 25-fold, and begun purchasing fuel from India and Morocco. Authorities have also allowed the production of Euro-3 and Euro-2 standard gasoline, which had been banned due to their high environmental harm. This relaxation will remain in effect until July 1, 2027.