More Than 70% Of Gas Stations In Russia Have Run Out Of Gasoline

• 18.08.2026, 16:48

A New Wave of Shortages.

Russia has been hit by a second wave of the fuel crisis: as of August 16, gasoline or diesel was available at only 28.1% of gas stations nationwide, compared to 41% a week earlier. This is according to data from the “GdeBENZ” app, which was highlighted by "Izvestia". Over the past seven days, fuel availability has declined in the Volgograd, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Voronezh, Samara, Penza, Saratov, Lipetsk, and Rostov regions, as well as in Tatarstan.

Authorities in at least eight regions, including Krasnodar Krai, Kaluga Oblast, and Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, have confirmed the existence of problems at gas stations. Residents of at least 13 other regions also reported fuel shortages on social media. These include Moscow, the Moscow Region, Irkutsk, Arkhangelsk, and Tomsk regions, the Zabaykalsky and Stavropol Krais, Yakutia, and Adygea. On August 17, Izvestia correspondents checked 21 gas stations in Moscow and the Moscow Region. AI-92 was available at only seven of them, AI-95 at six, and AI-98 at five. “A new wave of shortages has arisen due to ongoing attacks and unscheduled repairs at oil refineries,” explained Igor Yushkov , a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund .

Previously, S&P Global estimated that from January through July, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) had disabled at least 26 oil refineries in Russia through drone strikes. Seven of them have not resumed production, and in August, four more plants ceased operations. As a result, oil refining in Russia, according to EA Analytics estimates, fell to 3.6 million barrels per day—the lowest level since May 2002—but rose to 4 million barrels in August. However, as Rystad analysts noted, this is 30% below the seasonal norm.

At present, according to Reuters sources, Russian authorities are transporting gasoline from the regions to Moscow. At the same time, fuel market sources interviewed by Kommersant noted that the crisis could worsen by early September, as one of the two refineries in Belarus, which supplies Russia, will undergo maintenance. Scheduled maintenance is also planned at several major Russian refineries.