Published on 12/6/2026
The increasing Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure have brought the fuel issue to the forefront of attention within Russia, after the repercussions of the war began to be more clearly reflected in the daily lives of citizens.
Statements by Russian regional officials, reported by Bloomberg, on Friday, showed the extent of the efforts made to reassure the population after reports and complaints spread on social media about a shortage of gasoline at some gas stations, at a time when the Ukrainian attacks pushed Russian refining capabilities to their lowest levels in nearly two decades, according to estimates by the company EA Analytics, which specializes in analytics.
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Local authorities in several Russian regions were quick to deny the existence of a widespread fuel crisis, after media reports and electronic publications raised increasing concerns among residents.
The Governor of the Leningrad Region, Alexander Drozdenko, said in a post on the Telegram application this week that “the supplies are being delivered according to plan, and there are no shortages,” adding that individual complaints received from residents are “isolated cases and do not reflect the general situation.”
The Drozdenko administration oversees an area with a population of about two million people surrounding the city of Saint Petersburg, which is known locally as Russia’s second capital. The area was attacked in early June, coinciding with its hosting of President Vladimir Putin’s annual economic forum, as video clips circulated on social media showed black smoke rising from a fire that broke out at an oil station.
Historical decline in refining
The Ukrainian attacks reduced crude oil processing levels in Russia this June, according to estimates by EA Analytics, to their lowest daily level in 20 years.
Bloomberg reported that since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian energy facilities, targeting a number of the largest refineries during May and the first days of June, which increased pressure on the internal supply system.
This comes at a time when Russians are facing rising costs of living, an economic slowdown, and interest rates remaining at high levels. The war, which seemed far from the lives of many residents during its first years, became more present with the arrival of drones deep into Russian territory.
This trend is reinforced by a new development announced by Kiev on Friday, as the Ukrainian General Staff stated that the Ukrainian army launched attacks during the night targeting two oil refineries in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, confirming the outbreak of fires in the two facilities. It also announced the targeting of a factory in the Samara region specializing in the production of synthetic rubber used in the manufacture of solid fuel for missiles, in an indication of continuing pressure on the industrial structure related to the Russian energy and defense sector.
Concerns in border areas
In the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, which has repeatedly been subjected to attacks by Kiev, the acting head of the region, Alexander Shuvaev, was forced to address residents directly to contain their fears.
These statements came after citizens complained through his social media account that a supplier had stopped selling fuel inside containers. These complaints were reported by local media and television channels.
“The gasoline situation is not unique in our region,” Shuvaev said during a meeting with employees at a factory on June 8, adding: “However, we are finding solutions.”
In the Krasnodar region overlooking the Black Sea, the Regional Emergency Authority announced on Wednesday that only 15 gas stations out of more than a thousand stations had temporarily suspended fuel sales, in an attempt to reassure residents.
The authorities of the Voronezh and Rostov regions, which have a combined population of more than 6 million people, were also forced to deny reports of a gasoline shortage.
Concerns before the elections
These statements, according to Bloomberg, reflect the growing concern of the Russian authorities about the possibility of social unrest, especially with the approaching parliamentary elections scheduled for next September.
These developments also bring back memories of the fuel price protests that took place in several Russian regions in 2018.
Although most of the gas station networks in Russia are owned by major production companies capable of limiting the rise in prices for the final consumer, data from the Russian Federal Statistics Authority showed that gasoline prices rose by 5.6% since the beginning of this year.
Travel season increases stress
These developments coincided with the start of the summer holiday season, as millions of Russians head to the Black Sea regions, including the Crimean Peninsula, often using their own cars.
The Russian Energy Ministry admitted this week that Ukrainian drone attacks caused what it described as “temporary difficulties” in fuel supplies in a number of southern regions.
In the city of Sevastopol, the largest city in the Crimean peninsula, the authorities implemented an experimental system based on quick response codes (QR) in one of the gas station networks.
Each code allows 20 liters of gasoline, which is a little more than 5 US gallons, for one time only, provided that the car owner loses the right to obtain a new code before a week has passed.
The aim of the trial is to “ensure that as many people as possible have equal access to fuel, avoiding speculation, queuing and unnecessary hassle,” said Mikhail Razvogayev, the Russian-appointed governor of the region.
However, during this week, additional trucks loaded with gasoline were unable to reach the peninsula, which prompted Razvogayev to cancel the QR codes that were issued for that day.
Increasing logistical challenges
The attacks that targeted a number of refineries in central and southern Russia led to increased dependence on supplies coming from the areas surrounding Moscow and the Volga region.
As for the Crimean Peninsula, which does not have its own oil refinery, it needs to transport fuel across bridges that have become frequent targets of Ukrainian attacks.
Problems are also beginning to appear in central Russia, the region with the highest fuel consumption in the country. Although it hosts five major refineries that usually provide stable supplies, operations were halted in two of them after they were exposed to Ukrainian attacks.
Federal actions
At the federal level, the Russian Ministry of Energy announced the formation of a working group to ensure “stable and efficient operation” of the entire sector.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who is responsible for the energy file, also pledged to use all “available mechanisms” to ensure a reliable supply of oil products to the population.
But Bloomberg indicated that implementing this pledge may become more difficult, in light of the continuation of Ukrainian drone attacks at an almost daily pace, and their repeated targeting of infrastructure related to fuel production and transportation within Russia, which makes maintaining the stability of local supplies an increasing challenge for the Russian authorities in the coming months.
