The Russian government has drawn up an explicit priority list for fuel deliveries, formalising a de facto rationing system as domestic gasoline output collapsed to roughly 65% of seasonal demand in early July. The average pump price has climbed 16.4% since the start of the year, reaching 75.84 roubles per litre by mid-July, while the share of filling stations in the Moscow and St Petersburg regions with confirmed fuel availability rose by about six percentage points over the week to 19 July, according to T-Bank data, as emergency supply measures took hold.

The supply shock originates in a sustained Ukrainian drone campaign against Russian refineries, depots and logistics nodes. Multiple major plants have been damaged, forcing temporary shutdowns and cutting processing capacity. In response, the government banned exports of gasoline and diesel until the end of July, delayed routine refinery maintenance, and began redirecting fuel from Siberia and the Urals to the Moscow region, while increasing imports from Belarus. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said these steps have allowed the market to “partially stabilise”, with purchase limits lifted in several regions and queues shortening.

The new distribution hierarchy places state and municipal customers, the northern supply programme, defence contractors, the railways, the civil fleet and agricultural producers at the top. Next come consumers in annexed Crimea, the occupied territories, the Kaliningrad exclave, and exports ordered by the president or government. At the bottom are the retail networks of oil companies, independent filling stations and intergovernmental export agreements. In Crimea, the most severely affected area, authorities have introduced fuel rationing, suspended children’s tourism and reduced operating hours for shops and cafés. Independent station operators across Russia report working at the edge of profitability as wholesale price increases outpace retail caps.

Industry sources in Moscow note that the measures smooth peak shortages but do not restore lost refining capacity or modernise logistics. The Energy Ministry has been instructed to find contractors for fuel imports, propose supply schemes for deficit regions and assess the construction of mini-refineries. Regional governors must now submit daily reports on fuel stocks at depots, refineries and filling stations. Analysts in Russia caution that a rapid recovery is unlikely; a meaningful increase in production is not expected before the end of the year.