Russia Rations Fuel Across Most of Its Regions as Refinery Strikes Bite

Fuel rationing has spread across most of Russia. The republic of Sakha (Yakutia) introduced sales limits at stations run by the regional government's Sakhaneftegazsbyt network, and some stations in the Novosibirsk region have suspended sales to private customers altogether. By late June, independent reporting put the number of affected regions at well over half of the country, with caps of about 100 liters per driver common at major chains. Russia's gasoline output has been roughly a quarter below year-earlier levels after sustained Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries.

The strain is reaching consumers. A driving school in Ufa told the outlet Ostorozhno Novosti that it was raising the price of lessons because of more expensive gasoline, a small example of how the supply shock passes into the wider price level.

President Vladimir Putin sought to limit the political damage. In remarks summarized by TASS, he said Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure do not affect the situation at the front, while acknowledging fuel difficulties. Ukrainian and Western accounts describe a campaign that has disabled a significant share of Russia's refining capacity.

The pattern fits a common war-economy problem. When capacity is destroyed faster than it can be repaired, the result is rationing, and rationing distributes scarce supply through queues and limits rather than through prices, which the state is reluctant to let rise.