Out of Fuel: Crimea Introduces Rationing System as Shortage Spreads to 15 Russian Regions

In annexed Crimea, free gasoline sales have been completely halted as of June 4, with fuel now available only through vouchers that are not in public circulation. Similar restrictions are now in effect in at least 15 regions of Russia.

The fuel crisis in Russia-annexed Crimea has reached a critical point: as of June 4, the peninsula has completely halted free gasoline sales for cash. Sergey Aksyonov, the head of the Moscow-appointed administration, announced that gasoline vouchers are not available for public purchase and «will not be» available «in the near future.» In parallel, fuel sale restrictions have been documented in at least 15 Russian regions—from Moscow and Saint Petersburg to Kamchatka.

Aksyonov laid out the conditions of the emergency distribution regime bluntly and directly: «Starting today, gasoline sales for cash payment will be completely restricted for several days. Vouchers are not available for public purchase and will not be in the near future. Fuel will be sold at 20 liters per person using previously purchased vouchers.» At each gas station, according to him, employees of municipal and regional authorities are on duty, recording vehicle registration numbers. Utilities and security services, as well as public transportation, are being supplied fuel as a priority. Sevastopol's administrator Mikhail Razvozhaev clarified that the night of June 3 to 4 was «difficult»—fuel tankers could not reach the city due to shelling.

Tourists felt the crisis immediately. One vacationer described the situation on social media: «Local residents are walking now because there's no gasoline at all. But at least they have the possibility to walk, while tourists are left without gasoline altogether. For example, we have fuel left for fifty kilometers, and the nearest gas station, they say, might not even have gasoline—it's in Simferopol. So we don't even have the ability to reach Simferopol. Tourists are completely unprotected.» Multi-kilometer queues remain at gas stations; as of June 1, stations stopped issuing fuel vouchers.

The geography of restrictions is rapidly expanding. In Moscow and the Moscow Region, ORTK, Lukoil, and Gazprom networks have set limits of 60 to 150 liters per transaction. In Saint Petersburg, a representative of Kirishaavtoservis confirmed that fuel distribution is temporarily limited to 50 liters per transaction «in connection with recent events.» Restrictions have also been documented in Ryazan, Belgorod, Kursk, Saratov, Tomsk, Novgorod, and Murmansk regions, Karelia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, and Kamchatka. The head of Palana explained local restrictions as necessary to preserve warehouse reserves «until the winter road opens next year.» Oil industry representatives insist there is no physical fuel shortage, with problems being «exclusively logistical in nature»—but this version sits poorly with the scale of what is occurring.

Independent sources attribute the crisis to Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. Drone attacks struck, in particular, Rosneft's Ryazan refinery in mid-May and caused shutdowns at refineries in Kirishi and Yaroslavl. According to Bloomberg, oil refining in Russia has fallen to a multi-year low, the last time such levels were recorded in 2009. A source on the Russian fuel market warned that if the situation does not improve, by late summer the crisis will affect «most regions» of the country—a forecast that with each passing day appears less hypothetical.