(Adnkronos) – Several Russian regions have begun to ease fuel sale restrictions, imposed by almost all regions of the country in early June. This is learned from a series of announcements reported by local media and officials, which seem to indicate a gradual stabilization after national shortages caused by Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, which led Moscow, historically a major producer of hydrocarbons and fully capable of meeting its own internal needs, to start importing oil from abroad.
Lukoil and Teboil, two major chains, have removed all limitations in the Moscow and St. Petersburg regions, while the governor of the Siberian region of Omsk announced today that all restrictions have been revoked. The easing of restrictions has also been reported in the Rostov and Stavropol regions, in southern Russia, among other places. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated over the weekend that the “situation is gradually stabilizing” after “several plants resumed operations”.
The effects of the Ukrainian attacks, claimed by Kyiv as retaliation for Russian night bombings on Ukrainian cities, have been downplayed on several occasions by Russian officials and President Vladimir Putin himself. However, despite calls for calm, hours-long queues formed at petrol pumps across the country, with some of the lines even visible from satellite images captured from space. Videos of fights at service stations between motorists trying to refuel went viral on social media.
