Shocking: Severe fuel shortage in Russia, kilometre-long lines at gas stations

Russia is facing an acute fuel shortage as war-related disruptions push several regions into crisis. In some areas, 95-octane gasoline has completely vanished from gas stations, while drivers wait in hours-long lines—often in vain. Russian media are now calling the situation a “full-scale fuel crisis.”

Depleting supplies across the regions

The crisis is especially severe in Crimea, Khabarovsk, and other eastern districts, where drivers are reportedly waiting for hours to refuel. In some areas, authorities have implemented rationing: in the Kuril District of Sakhalin, residents have been limited to just 10 litres of gasoline per person since August 20.

Price surge and rampant speculation

While wholesale prices have seen some temporary relief, retail fuel prices have skyrocketed. Local media in the Primorye region, near the North Korean border, report long lines and station prices as high as 78 rubles (about $0.83) per litre—more than a 10% increase from last year. In some regions, 95-octane fuel prices have exceeded 200 rubles ($2.13), while private online sellers are asking up to 300 rubles ($3.20). The price spike far outpaces inflation: fuel has risen 5.7% this year, compared to the national inflation rate of 4.2%.

Major fuel shortage spreads in Russia: Queue of cars waiting in line to get to a gas station. Ukrainian drone strikes took out nearly 20% of Russian oil refining capacity in recent weeks. pic.twitter.com/1F5tiHw4fY

— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) August 20, 2025

What’s behind Russia’s fuel crisis?

Several factors are contributing to the crisis. Fuel demand traditionally spikes in summer due to agricultural activity, vacations, and tourism. At the same time, numerous oil refineries have shut down for both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. Many of the latter were the result of Ukrainian drone attacks, which have partially or fully disabled major facilities such as the Syzran, Novokuybyshevsk, Saratov, and Volgograd refineries. The Ryazan refinery is currently operating at just half capacity.

One striking example: a blaze at the Novoshakhtinsk refinery has been burning for four days with no sign of containment. This facility was the seventh refinery targeted by Ukrainian drones since early August. According to Russian analysts, at least 17% of the country’s refining capacity has been knocked offline, Reuters reports. It’s uncertain when—or if—these plants will resume operations. With scant reliable information emerging from Russia, it’s unclear how badly damaged certain refineries are, though signs point to long-term outages.

Videos on the spiraling gasoline crisis are flooding Russian social media today, as prices at service stations are changed on a near hourly basis to reflect worsening shortages.

Authorities attempt to calm the population. pic.twitter.com/TXMIneVdrt

— SPRAVDI — Stratcom Centre (@StratcomCentre) August 21, 2025

Government response falls short

In response, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has convened a series of emergency meetings. But so far, the government’s measures have yielded little improvement. Some stations only provide fuel via voucher systems, and only to organisations. Public sales have been outright banned in some areas. Authorities are considering additional steps, including releasing strategic reserves and banning fuel exports intended for domestic use. Despite official censorship, it’s increasingly evident that local governments are struggling to manage the shortage, which has now escalated into a nationwide issue.

Independent energy experts say resolving the crisis will require three steps: securing refineries from attacks, easing international sanctions, and expanding internal fuel trading regulations. The Russian government remains cautiously optimistic, projecting a fuel surplus by September once repairs are complete.

‘Angry’ Trump stays silent after Orbán complaint about Ukraine

Hungary has also been affected. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán penned a letter to Donald Trump, stating Hungary is supplying electricity and fuel to Ukraine, yet in return, Ukrainians are bombing oil pipelines supplying Hungary. Trump wrote back by hand, saying: “Viktor, I don’t like hearing this — I’m very angry about it. Tell Slovakia you’re a great friend of mine.” While Trump expressed his displeasure about the attacks, there has been no public announcement of any U.S. action or policy change regarding Ukraine.

Following repeated Hungarian criticism of Brussels, both Hungary and Slovakia complained to the European Commission. However, the EU has so far taken a reserved stance. The situation is complicated by the fact that Hungary and Slovakia are the only EU countries still purchasing Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline, which Ukraine continues to target in a bid to obstruct Russia’s war machine.

Observers believe these attacks may be helping to pressure Putin toward potential negotiations, which is likely why both Washington and Brussels have so far refrained from taking action against Ukraine. That said, if the crisis worsens, Russia may consider halting exports entirely to stabilise domestic conditions and avoid further public discontent ahead of elections.

Read more news about Russia on Daily News Hungary.

Read also:

• German Chancellor’s warning: Europe should brace for long conflict in Ukraine
• 26 EU states condemned Russian strikes on Kyiv: guess which one didn’t?

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