Second Russian region reports complete lack of gasoline

In the Leninsky district of the Jewish Autonomous Region, a remote and sparsely populated region of Russia near the border with China, gasoline sales to the public have been suspended due to severe shortages. The head of the district, Valery Samkov, said on Telegram that sales would likely resume next week .

Currently, gasoline is available only for specialized equipment and emergency services.

Regional authorities said the deficit was caused by "disruptions in the rhythm of supply" and failure to fulfill agreements between suppliers and customers.

At the beginning of the week, the Russian-occupied island of Iturup in the Pacific Ocean ran out of gasoline.

The Russian Far East is a gasoline-deficient region: it produces less gasoline than domestic consumption. There are only two medium-sized refineries in the region.

• Recently, Ukraine has struck at least ten large refineries in Russia. To cover the deficit, the Russian government imposed a complete ban on gasoline exports on August 1. However, the additional volumes for the market – about 150,000 tons per month – are too small to remedy the situation.