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Odd Plate, Odd Day: Russia’s New System Decides Who Gets Gas As Fuel Shortages Rise
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Five Russian regions have begun rationing gasoline by license plate as Ukraine’s sustained drone campaign against Russian refineries deepens the country’s fuel crisis.
The measure was reported by the Russian outlet RBC on July 9. Meduza had detailed the mechanics a day earlier, drawing on statements from regional governments and governors.
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Under the system, the first digit of a car's state plate sets the days on which it may be refueled, according to Meduza:
on even-numbered dates, vehicles with plates beginning in 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 may buy fuel;
on odd-numbered dates, only plates beginning in 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 are served.
RBC reported that the scheme took effect on July 9 in Mordovia, covering Saransk and outlying districts, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, and in the city of Astrakhan.
Astrakhan's governor, Igor Babushkin, confirmed July 9 as the start date for the city. Pskov region follows on July 10, and Lipetsk region on July 11, where Governor Igor Artamonov indicated that the regional operational headquarters would weigh the step on July 8.
In the Nizhny Novgorod region, the rule applies to all Lukoil, Gazprom Neft, and Tatneft stations except those on the M-12 federal highway, Meduza noted.
The approach originated in Oryol region, which became the first to sell gasoline by plate number on July 4, Meduza reported. The region's governor, Andrey Klychkov, claimed that queues at filling stations were minimal after the first day under the new rules.
The Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, addressed the shortages at a meeting the previous day, describing the regional difficulties as temporary and citing a high margin of safety in the country's energy system, RBC reported.
Putin also ordered a swift decision on subsidies for temporarily occupied Crimea, the outlet added.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced that Russia is banning diesel fuel exports and will begin importing petroleum products in July.
The plate-based rule marks the sharpest escalation yet in restrictions tied to Russia’s deepening fuel crisis, as Ukraine’s sustained campaign against refineries and oil depots has disrupted processing and tightened regional supplies.
Curbs had reached at least 20 Russian and temporarily occupied regions by June 4, with the earliest shortages reported in the Ryazan region after a Ukrainian drone attack on the Rosneft refinery there. On June 22, Omsk, Irkutsk, Saratov, Voronezh, Amur, and Tambov imposed emergency purchase limits.
By late June, Ukraine had struck Russian refining infrastructure more than 20 times since the start of 2026. Eight of the country’s ten largest refineries had been targeted, while roughly a quarter of national refining capacity was knocked offline.
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