Russian MP warns fuel crisis could leave country “without bread”

Russian authorities are downplaying the scale of a fuel crisis triggered by Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries, a senior lawmaker has warned, raising concerns about potential disruptions to the country’s food supply.

Nina Ostanina, head of the State Duma committee on family protection, said officials were not being transparent about the extent of the damage. 

She said roughly 30% of Russia’s oil refining capacity has been taken offline and questioned why senior officials had not acknowledged the situation or introduced emergency measures.

“Why won’t the responsible deputy prime minister say honestly that almost a third of refineries are out of operation, and why neither he nor other профильные deputy prime ministers and ministers are planning to introduce emergency measures in this regard?” she said.

Ostanina warned that failing to address the issue could have serious consequences, particularly ahead of the harvest season.

“The country could be left without bread, which under international sanctions would be tantamount to death,” she said.

Farmers in southern Russia have already reported shortages of diesel fuel and sharp price increases ahead of the harvesting campaign. Food producers have also warned retailers of potential delivery delays due to fuel shortages.

According to INFOLine, some regions are beginning to show signs of shortages of essential goods, including perishable products such as meat, milk and eggs.

Ukraine’s armed forces have stepped up attacks on Russian oil refineries, targeting 16 facilities in May alone. As a result, refining activity in central Russia has effectively stalled, with refinery utilisation dropping to its lowest level since 2009.

More than 40 regions, including occupied areas of Ukraine, have officially imposed restrictions on fuel sales. At the same time, reports of supply disruptions, empty and closed fuel stations have emerged from 85 regions.

President Vladimir Putin has previously said that “all damaged facilities are being restored fairly quickly” and that “everything is operating steadily.” He added that addressing fuel shortages would require “faster completion of repairs,” increased production of air defence systems to protect critical infrastructure, and higher imports of gasoline.

By Tamilla Hasanova