Get you up to speed: Russians fight each other at petrol stations after drone strikes hit Putin’s fuel supply | News World
Motorists across Russia are facing severe fuel shortages following Ukrainian drone strikes that disrupted the country’s oil infrastructure. In places like Siberia and the cities of Serov and Ryazan, drivers are reportedly queuing for hours, with incidents of altercations occurring at petrol stations.
Authorities have noted that queues at petrol stations have resulted in violent altercations among drivers in various regions, including incidents in Serov and Ryazan. President Putin acknowledged the disruptions caused by Ukrainian drone strikes, while pledging to increase fuel supplies to address the ongoing crisis, particularly in Crimea.
Vladimir Putin acknowledged that Ukrainian air strikes have resulted in “problems” for motorists, but claimed that fuel supplies are only four per cent lower than last year and pledged to increase supplies, particularly to Crimea. As public frustration mounts, police are intervening in regions to combat fuel price gouging by criminal groups taking advantage of the shortages.
What remains unclear — It is uncertain what specific measures will be taken to address the ongoing fuel shortages across Russia.
Fuel shortages in Russia lead to altercations at petrol stations after drone strikes
Motorists are fighting for fuel at petrol stations across Russia after Ukranian drone strikes severely disrupted the country’s oil infrastructure.
Many drivers have reported queuing for hours or even days to fill up their vehicles.
As the domestic impact from Putin’s war continues to be felt, many Russians are beginning to turn on the president as they feel the squeeze in their everyday lives.
Tanya, 29, was among motorists who waited 13 hours to get half a tank of fuel in Siberia.
Referring to Putin, she said: ‘He should stop this senseless conflict and let us live normally.’
Some desperate drivers have been reported attempting to jump queues as impatience boils over.
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In the mining town of Serov in the western region of Sverdlovsk Oblast, officers were called after a male driver punched a woman while shouting at several others.
Smoke rises following a Ukrainian air strike in the area of oil producer Gazprom Neft’s Moscow refinery (Picture: AFP)
A fight also broke out at a forecourt in the western city of Ryazan.
At one petrol station in Siberia, two women were seen arguing over who was ahead in the line.
One told the other: ‘So you should have stayed [in the queue].
‘Why the f*** you left [the queue], there is a queue, you dumb ass.’
The row descended into chaos as one woman said ‘go f*** yourself’ only for the other to threaten to hit them ‘in your f***ing face now’.
Vladimir Putin admitted that Ukrainian strikes on oil infrastructure had caused ‘problems’ but insisted fuel supplies were only four per cent lower than last year (Picture: Kremlin.ru/e2w)
In Irkutsk, Siberia, a man wearing jeans and a black t-shirt repeatedly hit a fellow motorist through his car window in frustration.
Mafia groups have also sought to capitalise on the shortage, with police in one region forced to intervene after a cabal were caught reselling fuel at triple its market price.
It comes as Ukrainian forces hit several critical targets, including a drone strike on the Moscow refinery of oil giant Gazprom Neft.
Putin attempted to address the growing crisis, which has spread to all of Russia’s 83 regions.
Ukrainian strikes have disrupted land routes into Crimea, which is severely low on fuel (Picture: Reuters)
He conceded Ukrainian air strikes on infrastructure had caused ‘problems’ for motorists and businesses, but insisted fuel reserves were only four per cent down on last year.
‘Unfortunately, there are also queues at [filling] stations, and it’s not always possible to find the right type of gasoline’, he said.
‘And, of course, we understand the difficulties faced by agricultural producers and farms in the summer period.’
The president pledged to increase supplies, including by sea to Crimea which has almost run dry, after land routes were disrupted by Ukrainian forces.
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