Kazakhstan has tightened border controls with Russia due to the large-scale smuggling of gasoline
Kazakhstan has sharply tightened controls along its border with Russia, setting up 59 police checkpoints to combat the illegal export of fuel. This decision was made amid a growing flow of vehicles from Russian regions, whose residents are traveling to the neighboring country in search of cheaper gasoline.
The Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that law enforcement officers are inspecting all vehicles crossing the border. Since the beginning of the year, they have uncovered 255 cases of illegally installed auxiliary fuel tanks. A total of 195 foreigners and 60 Kazakhstani citizens have been held administratively liable, and all additional fuel tanks have been confiscated.
In addition to checkpoints, the country’s authorities have introduced a number of other restrictions. In particular, vehicles from neighboring countries are allowed to cross the border only once a day. Round-the-clock patrols have also been organized on border roads, and mobile units are inspecting tanker trucks and fuel tankers. According to Interior Minister Yerzhan Sadenov, nearly 600 attempts to illegally export fuel have been prevented since the beginning of the year.
Demand for Kazakhstani gasoline has surged due to the fuel crisis in Russia. Most often, residents of the Astrakhan, Volgograd, Saratov, Orenburg, Novosibirsk, and Omsk regions travel to Kazakhstan to refuel. The largest flow of vehicles was recorded in Uralsk, located near the Russian border.
The economic benefit for Russian drivers remains significant. In Kazakhstan, a liter of gasoline costs about 300–350 tenge, while the average price in Russia is approximately 74 rubles per liter, and in some regions, due to shortages, it has already exceeded 90 rubles.
One of the reasons for the fuel shortage in Russia has been regular attacks by Ukrainian drones on oil refining infrastructure. In particular, on July 5, drones attacked the Omsk Oil Refinery—Russia’s largest in terms of production volume, with a design capacity of 22 million metric tons per year. This has further exacerbated problems with supplying the domestic market with fuel.
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan
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