As fuel shortages prolong in the wake of Ukrainian airstrikes targeting Russia's energy infrastructure, long queues of vehicles have been spotted at gas stations in major Russian cities.

According to Astra, a Russian Telegram news channel, on the 18th (local time), drivers were seen lined up to secure vehicle fuel at a gas station near the Lenin State Farm area in the Moscow region last weekend.

"The line is enormous, there's a fuel shortage, and the situation is getting worse," one citizen said. "What on earth is going on?"

In Tambov, western Russia, cars also formed a line in front of a gas station waiting for a fuel tanker to arrive.

Local residents reported that while diesel is available, AI-95 gasoline is rarely sold, and even the lower-grade AI-92 is only available at one or two locations within a 600-kilometer radius.

Similar scenes unfolded in Tula, Voronezh, and Samara, with about 200 cars forming a queue at a highway gas station in Rostov.

In fact, multiple videos have been verified showing cars stretching for hundreds of meters to reach gas stations.

Reuters analyzed that Russia's fuel shortage, which intensified in earnest last May, spread to almost all regions around July. Although the situation eased somewhat due to Russian authorities' export restrictions on petroleum products and relaxed quality standards, the crisis has deepened once again this month as refinery closures coincided with seasonal demand increases.

In Kaluga, near Moscow, a vehicle-specific fuel rationing system has been introduced starting on the 15th.

Authorities in Astrakhan, along the Caspian Sea coast, limited fuel sales to 40 liters per car the previous day and plan to temporarily restrict operations at some downtown gas stations.

Orenburg authorities are limiting individual consumption of gasoline and diesel.

Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev partially acknowledged the situation in an interview with Kremlin pool journalist Alexander Yunashev's Telegram channel that day, saying, "Every gas station has diesel, and there is gasoline at the gas stations, but I agree that queues have formed."

"We are actively working to resolve this issue," Tsivilev added.

(Photo: Yonhap News)