Vologda Governor Runs Out of Gas After Urging Residents Not to Hoard Fuel
Georgy Filimonov, governor of the Vologda region, reported that his official car ran out of gasoline on a highway, forcing him to hitch a ride with traffic police. Just an hour earlier, he had asked residents not to stockpile fuel amid a deepening crisis.
Georgy Filimonov, the governor of Russia’s Vologda region, said on his Telegram channel that his official vehicle ran out of gas while on the highway. “Just 15 minutes ago, I ran out of gas. The tank hit zero. It happened on the high-speed bypass around Vologda. I left my official vehicle and got into one that agreed to give me a lift. That, I think, proves we’re all in the same boat here, dealing with this problem together,” Filimonov wrote. In a follow-up post, he clarified that the car that picked him up was a traffic police vehicle.
Only an hour before posting about his own breakdown, Filimonov had urged local residents not to hoard gasoline. “For individuals, gasoline sales are currently partly restricted, because fuel is arriving in the same volume as before while demand has nearly doubled. I ask you to approach the situation with understanding, not to stockpile fuel, and not to give in to panic buying. We need to give our neighbors and fellow residents a chance to fill up,” he explained.
Russia has been experiencing a fuel crisis since late May, triggered by intense Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries – all major refineries have been hit. In the Vologda region, restrictions on fuel purchases have been in place since late June: no more than 30 liters of gasoline per person at a time, and only directly into a vehicle’s tank, not into canisters.
