Russian State Duma deputy accuses government of hiding fuel crisis scale, warns of election fallout
State Duma deputy Nina Ostanina has accused the Russian government of concealing the true extent of the fuel crisis, stating that nearly a third of the country's refineries are offline. She warns the crisis could influence the outcome of September's parliamentary elections.
Nina Ostanina, chair of the State Duma's family protection committee, has accused the Russian government of hiding the true scale of the country's fuel crisis. She claimed that nearly a third of Russia's refineries have been knocked out of commission, a fact that deputy prime ministers and ministers have refused to acknowledge. In a Telegram post, Ostanina questioned why the agriculture minister and his supervising deputy prime minister remain silent on the eve of the harvest season, warning that the country could be left without bread—an outcome tantamount to death under international sanctions. She cautioned that the crisis could have far graver consequences and shape the outcome of September's State Duma elections. Ostanina noted that gas stations in the Vladimir and Moscow regions are cordoned off with tape, with no lines and no gas. She pointed out that lines of semi-trucks and freight trucks mean prices for the goods they carry will inevitably spike. She expressed certainty that voters will think hard about whom to trust with their fate in September, and that no remote e-voting or three-day voting periods will save certain officials. Her remarks were a response to a statement by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who acknowledged a fuel shortage 'at certain gas stations' but maintained that the domestic market is supplied with both gasoline and diesel fuel. The fuel crisis has intensified over the past month, driven by increasingly frequent Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries. As a result, nearly all regions of the country have introduced various restrictions on fuel sales.
