In Russia it is becoming increasingly difficult to get gasoline: “At every gas station they send me to hell.”Image: keystone
Ukrainian drones are hitting refineries and depots harder and harder. Already one in four fuel retailers is rationing sales – at the same time, the Iran deal is exacerbating the Kremlin’s economic hardship.
June 21, 2026, 03:52June 21, 2026, 03:52
Ivan Ruslyannikov / ch media
The Kremlin regularly threatens Europe that it will freeze to death without Russian energy resources. But now a serious fuel crisis has broken out in Russia itself as a result of the escalating Ukrainian drone attacks.
Military bloggers close to the Kremlin are already describing the current situation as a dance between Scylla and Charybdis: on the one hand there are the blows against the domestic oil and gas sector, on the other hand there is the latest deal between the USA and Iran, which experts say will cut Russia’s income.
Restrictions on the sale of gasoline have now been introduced at almost one in four gas stations in the country. The extent of these restrictions varies depending on the region: they range from a ban on the sale of fuel in canisters at individual independent gas stations to a voucher system as practiced on the annexed Crimean peninsula and in Sevastopol.
Russian Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina said on Friday that inflation expectations could rise due to a rise in fuel prices following Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries.
The extent of the nationwide panic in Russia was evident from numerous reports in regional Telegram channels. Fuel has become the most important shortage in Sevastopol in recent weeks. The queues at the gas stations stretched for several kilometers. People often had to wait for hours without any guarantee that fuel wouldn’t run out right before it reached the pump.
The bottlenecks also affected long-distance drivers, who required significantly larger amounts of fuel than drivers of private vehicles. «I ordered 300 liters and waited a whole hour for delivery. In the end I only got 100 liters – they said they couldn’t give out more,” complained a truck driver from the Moscow region on Telegram.
An entrepreneur from Rostov-on-Don complained that he could no longer refuel his boats: “I run a boat rental business and am not allowed to buy gasoline in canisters to refuel my equipment. At every gas station they send me to hell.”
Repainted tank trucks due to fear of drones
The soldiers involved in the war in Ukraine no longer enjoy any privileges when purchasing fuel. To protect themselves from Ukrainian drones, Russian forces disguised their fuel trucks as civilian vehicles and built structures made of tree trunks around the tank containers. Some of the vehicles were also repainted to make it more difficult for them to be identified and targeted by drones.
In Sevastopol, soldiers fighting off Ukrainian drones are forced to refuel at civilian gas stations. When they try to buy gas out of line, they run into conflicts with locals who themselves wait for hours to fill up their car.
There is panic not only among the general population, but also among bloggers close to the Kremlin. “A few years ago we heard predictions everywhere that we would cut Europe off from gas and fuel and that winter would be the end of the world for Europeans because they would start to freeze,” says the Telegram channel “Pioner Sapasa”. «I myself shared this belief. But damn it: in some incomprehensible way, the Ukrainians have managed to ensure that the fuel collapse has now caught up with us.”
Blow to the Russian economy
People in the Kremlin are aware of the growing panic and are trying to counteract it. On June 1, a temporary export ban on aviation turbine fuel was imposed for the first time to “ensure a stable situation in the domestic fuel market.” The embargo should apply until November 30, 2026.
At the same time, on May 28, the Russian government approved a mechanism allowing private companies to purchase heavy equipment for air defense. These included anti-aircraft artillery systems, gun turrets, radar systems and special vehicles. This further increased the burden on the private sector. By 2025, companies had already spent a total of around 200 billion rubles on protective measures against Ukrainian drones.
Russian economist Dmitri Nekrasov said in an interview with “Switzerland Today” that the situation for Russian drivers is currently serious, but not yet catastrophic: there were already attacks on refineries and queues at gas stations last year. But, according to the expert: “The overall picture affects not only the Russian fuel and energy sector, but the entire economy of the country.”
In addition, a collapse in oil and gas revenues is predicted after the deal between the USA and Iran, said Nekrasov. “Iranian oil, previously held back by war and sanctions, is now entering the global market. Given the enormous arms spending for the war in Ukraine and the forecast decline in oil and gas revenues, a blow to the Russian economy is inevitable.” (schweiztoday.ch)
Record drone attack on Russia: These are the videos
Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger