Rosenberg: Shortage of Petrol but Not Patriotism as Russians Feel Growing Impact of War
Steve Rosenberg, BBC Russia Editor, Moscow
Russians in Moscow are facing long queues for petrol. At a petrol station in the south-east of Moscow, Svyatoslav has been queuing in his car for two hours. The sign board up ahead reads "No fuel."
"They say there will be petrol here," Svyatoslav tells me optimistically. "Maybe today, maybe tomorrow." I ask him why he doesn’t drive off to find another place to fill up.
"I haven’t got enough in the tank to do that," Svyatoslav replies.
Even if he had fuel, there would be no quick fix. This week across Moscow and other parts of Russia, long queues have formed for petrol. "Unscheduled repairs at oil refineries," Russian officials explain. These repairs have been triggered by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil facilities, which caused similar fuel shortages earlier this summer. The attacks continue.
This time the queues are even longer. Authorities seem to be struggling with refining capacity and logistics issues. The second wave of the fuel crisis is building, declared Nezavisimaya Gazeta this week.
Driving around Moscow this week, one notices patriotic announcements on billboards about Russian Flag Day…and giant petrol queues. Outside one Moscow station, I count 80 vehicles waiting. The search for fuel has become a constant struggle.
"Last night I went to get petrol at 11 pm," says Elizaveta, who’s queuing again. "By midnight I’d reached the front of the queue. Then they shut the station until 2 am."
Lyubov drove into Moscow from the provinces and found all the stations along her route empty. To stay calm in the queue, she is stroking her pet dog Agatha.
How does Lyubov view the crisis? "Everyone says there’s a difficult situation in the country," she tells me. "Everyone connects this to that situation."
Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there were no drone strikes on Russian oil refineries or any facilities inside Russia. The Kremlin continues its so-called "special military operation" despite these attacks. To ease the crisis, Russia has started importing petrol and temporarily suspended export duties on refined petroleum products.
