Russia’s gasoline sales hit a two-year low on Tuesday as Ukrainian drone strikes and surging harvest-season demand intensify the country’s fuel shortage.
Data from the St. Petersburg Exchange, reported by Kommersant on Wednesday, shows that sales of A-92 petrol dropped 21.7 percent to 15,600 metric tons on Tuesday, the lowest level since 2023. Sales of A-95 petrol fell 15.5 percent to 12,060 tons compared with the previous day, bringing total gasoline sales on the exchange down 19.1 percent to 27,700 tons.
The sharp decline comes amid unscheduled shutdowns at several large Russian refineries, as Kyiv reportedly escalated its campaign against Russian oil and gas infrastructure.
On Thursday, units of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces announced they had targeted the Volgograd Refinery, located in southern Russia’s Volgograd Oblast. The refinery, the largest producer of petroleum products in Russia’s Southern Federal District, supplies fuel and lubricants to Russian military forces.
During Monday night and the early hours of Tuesday morning, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces struck the Saratov oil refinery, further compounding the supply disruption.
According to Kommersant, some refineries have declared force majeure and stopped shipping petrol, accelerating the depletion of local fuel stocks. Independent petrol station chains have been hit hardest, as suppliers prioritize deliveries to larger networks. Two independent chains, each operating about 20 stations, have already suspended retail sales and now sell petrol only under long-term contracts.
The decline in sales is also linked to high demand from Russian farmers during the busy harvest season in September and October, Oleg Abelev, head of the analytical department of the Russian investment company Rikom-Trust, told Kommersant.
Veronika Melkozerova contributed to this report.
The post Russia gasoline sales hit 2-year low amid Ukrainian drone strikes and harvest-season demand appeared first on Politico.
