"The situation is getting worse": How Crimeans are living without fuel and when they can expect it

The first fuel problems in Crimea appeared in mid-August. The popular AI-95 gasoline disappeared from local gas stations. The price of gasoline of all brands has also risen sharply. Many drivers in Crimea, willing to damage their cars, switched to refueling with cheaper gasoline - A-92.

The Russian head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, promised that the situation would change by the end of September, when the excitement associated with the holiday season subsides. But by this point, the problem has not only not been resolved, but has intensified - in September, fuel completely disappeared from Crimean gas stations.

 

 

At gas stations in Crimea, gasoline of all brands disappeared en masse in late September. Car owners are creating chat rooms in which they exchange addresses of gas stations where they can still “catch” the remains of fuel.

“What the residents of Crimea feared has happened. There is no gas at gas stations, many gas stations are completely closing down so as not to pay salaries to employees. The gasoline collapse that has begun has affected both ordinary residents of Crimea and businesses,” a human rights activist from Crimea told Krim.Realii on condition of anonymity.

According to him, budget-funded enterprises in Crimea receive fuel coupons for minimal needs. Private companies are facing serious problems and suffering losses.

The residents of Crimea are in a difficult situation. Many have been forced to switch to public transport. Minibuses in cities are overcrowded.

"You have to wait a long time for a taxi, they also have problems with gas. A taxi driver I know said that their company received a lot of orders to charge batteries, which Crimean drivers are draining en masse due to traffic jams caused by lack of gas," noted the activist.

Locals say that they do not remember such a long period of lack of gasoline in Crimea.

 

In September, Russian authorities in Crimea asked “not to aggravate the situation with artificial demand” and not to buy fuel “as a reserve” in canisters.

In early August, the Russian head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, called on local residents and tourists to “understand the temporary difficulties,” explaining that a significant part of the fuel is delivered to Crimea by road under difficult logistical conditions.

When the fuel completely disappeared, he admitted that the reason was a reduction in production at Russian refineries. Aksyonov promised that gas stations would be supplied with AI-95 gasoline “within two days” and A-92 gasoline within two weeks.

However, he did not mention that the reduction in production at Russian refineries was a consequence of systematic attacks by Ukrainian armed forces on Russian oil refining facilities.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries have caused Russian fuel exports to hit their lowest level since 2020, the Financial Times reported.

According to its data, 16 of Russia's 38 refineries have been hit since the beginning of August, some of them multiple times.

Russian authorities do not disclose information about attacks on their refineries.  

 

 

The head of the Russian “Association of Freight Carriers of Crimea” Anatoly Tsurkin says that the fuel crisis in Crimea is caused by attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian oil refineries and problems with logistics in Crimea.

“The situation with petroleum products on the peninsula is getting worse. Despite the end of the active phase of the holiday season, the departure of tourists, the shortage of fuel, and mainly gasoline, is only growing. The government of Crimea and Sevastopol has repeatedly spoken about stability, the availability of reserves on the territory of Crimea, but, unfortunately, it has again not justified the hopes of citizens. The logistical delivery routes previously selected for the delivery of fuel and lubricants turned out to be irrelevant and prone to high risks (unfortunately, it is not possible to disclose detailed information about the routes). The owners of gas station networks did not optimize the logistical routes, did not look for alternative routes. In fact, no one has drawn any conclusions about the settling of fuel and lubricant residues in the summer,” Tsurkin says.

According to Tsurkin, fuel problems are causing a "fever" in the professional environment of truckers and it is possible that this will lead to an increase in the cost of delivering goods from Russia to Crimea.

"To solve the problem of fuel shortages in Crimea, Russia is using the bridge across the Kerch Strait," claims the spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, Dmitry Pletenchuk.

We remind you that previously, fuel trucks were prohibited from using the Kerch Bridge after it was attacked by the Ukrainian armed forces.

"The information is still being verified, but according to available data, Russia is using the Kerch Bridge to deliver fuel due to restrictions on railway routes that have become unusable after several incidents," said Dmitry Pletenchuk.

According to him, the problem of fuel shortages is currently affecting the civilian population in Crimea, but over time it could also affect the combat units of the Russian army deployed in Crimea.