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