In Russia, drivers have died while waiting in line for gasoline amid the fuel crisis
Amid a widespread fuel shortage in the Russian Federation, at least two cases of drivers dying while waiting in line at gas stations have been reported.
In the city of Lysva in the Perm Krai, an 80-year-old man died while waiting for several hours at a gas station—the ambulance that arrived was unable to save him, and the preliminary cause of death was cited as heart failure. Earlier, a similar incident occurred in Petrozavodsk (Republic of Karelia), where a 75-year-old driver suddenly died while waiting in line near the Republican Hospital.
The acute crisis in the Russian petroleum products market has worsened following successful strikes by Ukrainian drones, as a result of which Russia lost about 40% of its oil refinery capacity. According to estimates by the analytical agencies EA Analytics and Energy Intelligence, the country’s oil refining volumes have fallen to the lowest levels seen between 2002 and 2005, ranging from 3.58 to 3.91 million barrels per day—nearly a third less than last year’s figures.
Currently, idle refinery capacity in Russia is estimated at 3.1 million barrels per day, and the monthly shortage of gasoline and diesel fuel reaches 400,000–600,000 metric tons. As a result, official restrictions on fuel sales have already been introduced in more than 40 regions of the Russian Federation; however, de facto hidden limits and bans are in effect in nearly all Russian regions, as well as in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
Source: ASTRA.
Gasoline prices in Russia are hitting record highs due to intensified attacks on refineries—ISW.
The Russian Red Cross has begun building up additional stockpiles of humanitarian aid for the temporarily occupied Crimea and Sevastopol following the declaration of a state of emergency on the peninsula.
On the temporarily occupied Crimean Peninsula, local residents report prolonged power outages, fuel shortages, rising prices, and problems with social infrastructure. According to them, the situation is particularly dire in the northern regions of the peninsula.
As a reminder, Ukraine has claimed to have struck 19 Russian tankers carrying fuel for Crimea.
