From Gas Station Brawls to Fuel Theft: Russia Faces Worst Energy Crisis

Vehicles waiting to enter gas stations are lined up endlessly along the roads.

This is the current scene in Russia, which has fallen into a fuel crisis due to Ukraine's attacks on its oil refineries.

[Voice: I have been waiting for 12 hours.]

[Voice: This is my fifth hour.]

Exhausted by the wait, citizens are engaging in physical altercations to get fuel first, and portable toilets have even been set up around gas stations.

[Interview: Pavel Stepanov / Content Creator: The government is not providing information to the people, nor are they solving the problem. All they do is set up portable toilets.]

Ukraine has been focusing its drone strikes on Russian oil refineries for several months.

Recently, an oil refinery near the capital, Moscow, was also engulfed in flames.

With more than 20 percent of its refining facilities shut down, Russia, the world's second-largest crude oil exporter, has been reduced to importing gasoline from countries like India.

Fuel purchase restrictions have been imposed in nearly 60 regions, and the Crimean Peninsula has even implemented a rationing system.

In many places, thieves are rampant, stealing fuel from parked vehicles.

[Interview: Diana Shukevich / Victim of Theft: It has become dangerous to park cars on the street now. They cut the hose and stole 20 liters of gasoline.]

In some regions, local government heads are personally stepping forward to appeal for reduced driving.

[Interview: Mayor of Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky: I am walking home from work. Please do not drive unless it is absolutely necessary until everything returns to normal.]

President Putin unusually admitted at the end of June that the crude oil shortage was a consequence of the war in Ukraine.

However, as no solution to end the war has been presented, public frustration continues to rise.

Reported by Kim Young-a | Video by Kim Jong-tae | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.