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Farmers and logistics operators in Russia are already openly complaining of a hopeless situation caused by the fuel shortage.
This was reported by Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, UATV English reports.
The report specifically concerns the company “Azovzernotrans,” which handles grain transportation in southern Russia.
According to the intelligence agency, the company’s management describes a catastrophic situation: the nearest gas stations are closed, and where diesel is still available, strict limits apply — up to 30 liters per tank.
Since modern loaders consume about eight liters of fuel per hour, drivers are forced to drive to gas stations every hour. This effectively halts any production processes and logistics in the ports of Azov, Taganrog, and Rostov-on-Don.
An even bigger problem amid the systemic crisis in Russia, according to intelligence data, is the complete paralysis of heavy construction and tracked equipment. As of now, it is physically impossible to refuel bulldozers or excavators in the country, which are legally prohibited from driving on public roads, since under the new rules gas stations are not allowed to dispense fuel into canisters or other containers.
“Russian entrepreneurs are helplessly stating that work at infrastructure sites has stopped,” the Foreign Intelligence Service reports.
Intelligence data indicates that the fuel crisis is already directly threatening to disrupt sowing and harvesting campaigns in Russia. According to local farmers, fuel shortages and delays will inevitably lead to a loss of about 30% of the harvest.
Small and medium-sized farms that lack their own large fuel storage facilities are forced to buy diesel at regular gas stations at speculative prices, which wipes out any business profitability.
The financial crisis in Russia, as established by intelligence, is intensifying amid high inflation. In just a few days, the wholesale price per liter of diesel fuel rose from 107 to 115 rubles, and the shortage continues to drive prices up.
“Russian farmers admit that buying fuel even at these astronomical prices is becoming unrealistic — it’s simply not physically available. Small and medium-sized businesses in Russia are currently just dying out, and only a select few large oligarchic monopolies close to the authorities have a chance of surviving in this poverty created by the Kremlin regime,” the agency notes.
As previously reported, at the end of June Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin admitted for the first time that the population and businesses in Russia are facing difficulties buying gasoline.
An Airbus satellite captured a line of cars roughly 4.5 km long near a gas station in Russia’s Zabaykalsky Krai.
Data from the “Yandex Wordstat” service shows that Russians are massively searching online for ways to make gasoline themselves.
Read also: White House Backs Bipartisan Bill to Tighten U.S. Sanctions on Russia
