Putin acknowledged that long lines have formed at gas stations and that required gasoline grades are “not always available.”
“In the interests of domestic consumers, a temporary full ban has been imposed on exports of gasoline and aviation fuel. We are also considering the need to introduce a complete ban on diesel fuel exports,” Putin said.
Citing a report he said had been provided by Russia’s Energy Ministry, Putin claimed that gasoline reserves stood at 1.7 million metric tons, “roughly in line with the level recorded during the same period last year.” According to Putin, the decline amounted to “only 4%.”
Meanwhile, in Russia’s Irkutsk region, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, citing local authorities, reported that police and Russia’s National Guard had been ordered to patrol gas stations and ensure fuel was sold only into vehicle fuel tanks, not into jerry cans or other containers. Rosneft gas stations in the region have imposed a sales limit of no more than 50 liters per vehicle, while other filling stations have been allowed to introduce even stricter limits.
On June 15, Russian state-aligned newspaper Kommersant reported that some refineries had been authorized to supply the domestic market with gasoline and diesel fuel meeting Euro-5 specifications but produced to Euro-3 quality standards. The Russian government introduced the measure to help prevent fuel shortages.
On June 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that as of May, 40% of Russia’s primary oil refining capacity had been taken offline.