Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 30
Russian Drivers Turn to Apps and Black Market as Ukraine Refinery Attacks Deepen Fuel Crunch
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 30

Russian Drivers Turn to Apps and Black Market as Ukraine Refinery Attacks Deepen Fuel Crunch

3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 30

Summary

  • Russian motorists are waking before dawn, queuing at stations and using crowd-sourced apps to track where the right gasoline grades are still available.
  • Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries are tightening fuel supplies across the country, turning routine refueling into a daily search.
  • Some drivers are leaning on personal networks or buying fuel on the black market when stations run dry or lack the needed grade.
  • Others are converting cars to alternative fuels, underscoring how refinery disruptions are spilling beyond industry into everyday life in Russia.

Insights

With its refineries burning, is Russia's war machine finally running out of fuel?
As gas lines lengthen, could a domestic fuel crisis become the greatest threat to Putin's power?
Are Ukraine's drone strikes proving more effective than Western sanctions at crippling Russia's economy?