Video: watson/hanna dedial
Hours of waiting for nothing, rationing and fistfights – that’s what parts of the Russian population are experiencing at gas stations these days.
July 10, 2026, 6:57 p.mJuly 10, 2026, 6:57 p.m
The smartphone display shows 4:15 a.m. At this time, a Russian woman in Crimea sets out to fill the tank of her car. On the way to the gas pump she stops again and again, says something to the camera and shows what time it is now – 5.02 a.m. – but she doesn’t have to stop specifically for that. She is already standing in the kilometer-long queue that has formed in front of the gas station. She checked in for the last time at 9:54 a.m Telegram-Video, it was finally done and the car was refueled.
Long wait for nothing
What the Russian showed in her video is normal for many of her compatriots these days. If you want to fill up, you have to take your time – a lot of time. And sometimes getting up early isn’t worth it. In some regions, a state of emergency has been declared and civilians are no longer allowed to refuel.
Almost all regions of Russia are feeling the bottleneck. 50 of Russia’s 83 internationally recognized regions are facing fuel shortages due to intense Ukrainian drone attacks. According to one Research CNN also ran out of gas in almost all other regions.
As videos on social media show, there are long lines even at gas stations that are out of gas. Some sleep in the car so that they can be the first to arrive when another delivery arrives. Anyone who relies on a car currently has no choice but to hope that supplies will come from somewhere.
Violence and theft
Numerous other videos show how heated exchanges, arguments and fights break out at gas stations. Some don’t stick to the specified limits and even fill canisters for later – or to then sell the fuel at a high price on the black market.
Patience and financial resources – fuel prices in the petro-land of Russia have risen by around 7 percent in the last three weeks alone, as the Russian statistics agency Rosstat announces – are no longer necessarily enough to stay mobile: Some people resort to PVC hoses and mess with other people’s tanks.
Export stop and perseverance slogans
Putin also has to admit that the war has really reached the Russian population. At least his decision could Diesel exports to stop going abroad immediately until the end of July can be understood as such an admission. An export ban on gasoline has been in effect for a long time.
Nevertheless, Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing down the development. At a government meeting he announced that the resilience of the Russian energy system was very high. It is not clear whether the Russian population, half of whom cited price pressures as the country’s most pressing problem in a recent survey, shares this view. Many people are angry online.
Or as one X user wrote mockingly:
“From ‘Kiev in three days’ to metal gates at gas stations in 3.5 years.”
Video: watson/hanna dedial
(hde)
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