Several petrol stations in Russia are rationing fuel as Ukraine’s long-range drone attacks on the country’s oil infrastructure continue to disrupt supply.
Almost all of Russia’s 83 regions have been affected, according to analysis by ITV News’ US partner CNN, with people having to join long queues to fill up their tanks.
It comes as Ukraine has ramped up its “long-range sanctions” with almost daily bombardment of Russia’s fuel refineries.
On Saturday, Ukrainian drones struck an oil terminal in St Petersburg, a blow for the Kremlin and the region’s fuel supply.
On Telegram, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “The Ukrainian defence forces hit the port oil infrastructure, which earns money for the Russian war, and there were also hits on Kronstadt — an important military target.”
Russian-controlled Crimea was the first to be impacted on June 21, triggering an emergency which resulted in a ban on fuel sales to citizens.
Now more than 50 regions are reporting supply issues, three of which have declared a “state of heightened alert”, according to the figures by CNN.
It analysed official statements from regional mayors and governors, as well as national and local media reports, finding that more than 50 of its internationally recognised regions were officially reporting supply problems, with unofficial reports of disruptions in almost all of them.
The governor of Irkutsk, one of the worst-affected regions, also banned sales of canisters to anyone except emergency services.
Police fined four people in Irkutsk on Monday, accusing them of reselling gas on the black market at inflated prices, according to the region’s Interior Ministry.
In one case, a 20-year-old man was caught in a sting operation after anti-corruption officers turned up posing as buyers. He was allegedly selling the fuel at around four times the national average price.
In a bid to reassure the population that everything was under control, President Vladimir Putin said on state TV on Sunday that Russia was “seeing certain shortages, although they are not critical”.
He emphasised the need to “rapidly and significantly increase production of the air defence systems”, and insisted the war will continue until his objectives are achieved.
At least 22 people were killed in Ukraine on Monday after Russia launched a wave of missiles and drones.
On Wednesday, another attack killed three people in Kyiv and Kharkiv, and 20 others were injured.
It has been more than four years since the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian pilots are ramping up their offensive by using drones to hit supply lines in Russia, aiming to strike highways carrying fuel and cut off food and ammunition.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak claimed Wednesday that the Russian market is “fully supplied” with both diesel and gasoline.
While the governor of Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, wrote on his Telegram channel: “No need for panic. Or for too much optimism.”
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