Russian frustration rises as fuel crisis bites

MOSCOW - In Russia’s grain belt, farmers fret they will not be able to harvest their crops as a fuel crisis sparked by Ukraine’s drone attacks on oil refineries and depots disrupts daily life.

As Kyiv tries to pressure Moscow into making peace with strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure, the resulting damage has squeezed oil-rich Russia’s fuel supplies, leading to restrictions in most regions and growing public disquiet.

This has pushed drivers to crowd-source maps and trade tips about which stations have fuel and shorter lines.

The shortage has also frayed tempers, with drivers shown in footage on social media getting into fights as they wait to refuel.

In one video, titled ‘The Ultimate Luxury 2026,’ a man slowly pours petrol into his lawnmower from a jerry can and jokes: “What riches. Who can afford this now?”

Online searches for “how to siphon fuel” jumped to more than 9,300 by June 21 from 697 a month earlier, website iPhones.ru said, citing Yandex data.

Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s own energy infrastructure since launching what it calls its special military operation in 2022, leaving large numbers of Ukrainians without power or heating during winter.

Evidence of the widening impact of Ukraine’s campaign is uncomfortable for Russian authorities, who initially downplayed fuel shortages as localised bottlenecks.

One social media post highlights farmers in the fertile Black Earth region struggling to afford fuel for harvest, while another describes a farmer having to drive his combine harvester to a regular gas station after he was not allowed to fill a can.

Reuters could not independently verify the accounts.

President Vladimir Putin acknowledged there were issues on June 28 and promised measures to stabilise the market.

He said it was particularly important to maintain fuel supplies to the agricultural sector “because the harvest depends on it”.

His point man on energy, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, said on July 1 that the problems were being addressed.

Reuters reported exclusively that Russia had begun seaborne gasoline imports from India and that Kazakhstan had agreed to supply 50,000 metric tons to Russia in July and August.

Even before the shortages escalated in June, Russians were feeling more pessimistic about economic conditions than at any time in the past 20 years, a poll showed this week.

Some areas are seeing basic services cut back.

In the Zabaikalsky region, bordering China and Mongolia, authorities cancelled some bus routes and a waste-collection firm suspended services in four districts, citing fuel constraints.

“More scary is how much groceries will cost. All deliveries are done by road,” one person posted on an article about the cuts on the website of regional news outlet Chita.ru.

More than 100 people “liked” the comment.

As strikes continue, prolonged fuel shortages could erode public support for the war, which began in February 2022 with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is now in its fifth year.

Waiting in line at a filling station in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don on June 29, Tatiana Sedykh told Reuters she was glad she used diesel.

“The line for gasoline is just insane... I’m starting to think maybe I should begin walking to work.” REUTERS