Crimean car owners spent June and July standing in lines. Only a few gas stations were selling gasoline and diesel; the locations and sales rules were constantly changing, and the price sometimes exceeded 400 rubles per liter. In early August, the situation improved. Fuel priced at 160–200 rubles appeared at gas stations belonging to two chains. When the occupying authorities began regulating prices, 92-octane gasoline disappeared. 95-octane gasoline cost 190 rubles per liter but remained available. By the beginning of this week, that was gone too.

“You know that joke about the zebra: we thought it was a black stripe, but it turned out to be white. Of course, it was no easy task — sometimes they sold it via QR codes, sometimes only 20 liters at a time, sometimes only in the tank, sometimes only in a can. But after all those hurdles and a three-hour line, you’d drive off with a full tank and could relax for a week. “This morning I drove around to all the gas stations ‘in the area’ — not a single one was open. Oh, wait, one was selling diesel, but I need gasoline. I didn’t bother looking any further, because I could end up spending all my remaining money that way,” complains Stas, a resident of the Simferopol district.

The situation is the same across the entire peninsula. A Telegram bot that helps Crimeans find fuel responds the same way to queries for “AI-92,” “AI-95,” and “AI-95 Ultra” in any city: “out of stock.” 

“Across the bridge” (in Russia — Ed.), the situation isn’t much better, says Valery, a taxi driver from Kerch.

“Yesterday I was watching what was going on — I thought, well, I guess I’ll have to go again. All summer long, the guys in the Krasnodar Region filled up my tank with regular gas at a normal price. And into jerrycans, too — I had to bring something back for my folks and cover my travel expenses. It’s a good thing I borrowed a phone from a friend and called before heading out — he said, ‘Nope, nothing,’” the driver complains.

There are now lines for gas all over Russia. A line with up to 50 cars is considered small. According to the propaganda outlet *Izvestia*, gasoline is currently available at 28% of Russian gas stations. “That’s a huge exaggeration,” says Igor, a resident of Ak’yar (Sevastopol). His daughter is studying in Moscow and is currently on her way to Crimea. He says that on the M-4 highway — the main route from the Russian capital to the south — fuel is available at only one in ten gas stations, and there are lines stretching for several kilometers at all of them.

“We tried to talk her out of going — it’s dangerous here right now. But she decided to surprise us anyway. She calls and says, ‘Guess where I am.’ It turned out to be near Voronezh. She missed us and the sea, but most importantly, she has a new boyfriend and is bringing him to meet us. My mother and I, of course, were delighted; we thought they’d spend the night somewhere in Rostov and be here by the afternoon. But they’re young and impatient — they didn’t want to wait in line. They passed one gas station, then another, then a third — looking for the shortest line. And the closer they got to Crimea, the fewer gas stations were open. They filled up with gas from jerry cans — and still ran out. As a result, they didn’t make it in two days. They spent the night somewhere on the highway in the Kuban region, with an empty tank. And now I’ve arranged with a friend to bring them 20 liters. Let them get there — but I have no idea how to get them back,” says the Crimean resident.