Kremlin urgently summons oil executives as gasoline crisis spirals out of control

Fuel problems in Russia are no longer local - a nationwide crisis is beginning, and authorities are losing control.

Russia’s fuel crunch is worsening fast: gasoline has vanished in four regions, forcing officials to call oil company leaders to an emergency government meeting. It’s the second such summons this month, signaling alarm in high offices as the situation appears to slip out of control.

Interfax reports the meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak took place on Monday, August 25.

Sources say Novak demanded the in-person attendance of all top managers in the oil sector. The reason is clear — a gasoline shortage stretching from Crimea to the Kuril Islands.

The situation is deteriorating by the day. Stations in Crimea and Zabaykalsky Krai are already operating with ration coupons. In Primorye, drivers are facing hours-long lines, and in the Kuril Islands gasoline sales have stopped entirely. Meanwhile, exchange prices keep breaking records: A-92 and A-95 have hit historic highs - 72.6 and 82.2 thousand rubles per ton, respectively.

The cause isn’t just market speculation, but also Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries. In August alone, the Volgograd, Syzran and Novoshakhtinsk plants have halted production or caught fire. According to The Moscow Times, about 13% of Russia’s refining capacity has been knocked offline.

The government is scrambling for solutions: debating sales from strategic reserves, raising mandatory exchange volumes, and banning transactions in which companies effectively sell fuel to themselves. But, as Reuters sources note, even an export ban on gasoline hasn’t fixed the problem - shortages persist.