Alexander Avdeev, the governor of Russia’s Vladimir Region, urged residents to reduce trips in private cars where possible and to buy gasoline only in the amounts they currently need. He made the statement after an emergency meeting of the regional government devoted to fuel disruptions at gas stations.
“The calmer residents react to these temporary difficulties, the faster it will be possible to return the situation to normal,” Avdeev wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to him, the situation worsened because of panic buying by motorists. The governor said that several companies experienced logistics problems last week, after which residents began purchasing fuel in unusually large volumes.
Avdeev said that as a result, queues and increased demand for gasoline appeared even at stations where supplies had continued as scheduled.
He also said that priority access to fuel would now be given to emergency and municipal services, public transport, product suppliers, garbage haulers, and agricultural producers.
The report adds that Russia’s fuel crisis began amid Ukrainian attacks. According to calculations by The Bell as of June 16, restrictions on fuel sales to private vehicles were already in place in 53 Russian regions, as well as in Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia.