Sharpest weekly rise in Russian petrol prices for two decades as Ukrainian airstrikes begin to bite

Petrol prices in Russia have seen their sharpest weekly rise of the past 20 years, according to the country’s federal statistics bureau, Rosstat, which reported an average increase of 3% at the pump during the week of 16-22 June.

The average price of petrol in Russia rose by 3.02% within a single week, according to Rosstat, jumping from 69.11 rubles (€0.81) to 71.20 rubles (€0.83) per litre. Over the past three weeks, fuel prices in the country have risen by 5%, according to The Moscow Times.

Over the past week, petrol price rises have been recorded in 78 of Russia’s 83 regions, with costs rising particularly steeply in Dagestan (+16.5%) and Chechnya (+15.2%) in the North Caucasus.

The fuel crisis, which has been caused by Ukraine’s unrelenting attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent months, is “the worst in two decades”, according to analysts at Energy Intelligence, the world’s leading energy information company.

Vladimir Putin addressed the crisis for the first time on Tuesday, telling a video conference with the government that the threats being made by “the Kyiv regime” must be “minimised” after Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak described the shortages as “challenging but under control” and said the government would be able to ensure that the pumps didn’t run dry.

Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries have seen petrol production in Russia fall by 25%, meaning it currently produces 20% less fuel than it needs to cover its own domestic consumption, according to Reuters, which also reported that Russia was attempting to negotiate the purchase of 50,000 tonnes of additional petrol with Kazakhstan.

Petrol stations across Russia have attempted to manage the shortages by restricting fuel sales at the pump, though in Russian-annexed Crimea, fuel sales were completely suspended on Sunday, leaving thousands of Russian holidaymakers who drove to the peninsula stranded there for the time being.