Russian Regional Governor Confronts Major Oil Firms Amid Severe Fuel Deficit

Long queues formed at fuel stations across Russia's Lipetsk region as gasoline shortages disrupted supplies, prompting regional Governor Igor Artamonov to publicly urge the country's largest oil companies to increase deliveries and provide transparent information about the situation.

In a statement published on Telegram on July 9, Artamonov shared footage showing motorists waiting overnight outside closed gas stations and criticized what he described as a discrepancy between company assurances and the reality on the ground.

“It is impossible to accept a situation where company representatives tell the regional operational headquarters that they are ready to supply fuel to operating filling stations, even taking into account the overall shortage, only for residents to see the exact opposite just a few hours later: closed gas stations, no gasoline, and queues where people stand throughout the night,” Artamonov said.

“These images show exactly that: queues. People waiting from evening until morning for fuel at closed filling stations. This should not be happening,” he added.

The shortages come as Ukrainian long-range drones continue to target Russia's oil infrastructure. In the latest overnight strikes on July 9, Ukrainian drones hit oil storage facilities in Russia's Tver and Stavropol regions, igniting fires at both sites, according to the OSINT community Exilenova+.

Images and videos circulating online showed thick black smoke rising above the affected fuel depots.

Initial reports suggested the target in the Stavropol region was the Lukoil-Yugnefteprodukt oil depot in Mikhailovsk. However, Russian independent outlet Astra later reported that the fire had broken out at a different oil storage facility in the village of Vyazniki in the Shpakovsky district.

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The governor of the Stavropol region subsequently confirmed that a drone attack had set an “industrial facility” on fire in Vyazniki.

The strikes come amid an ongoing 40-day campaign authorized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and coordinated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), aimed at weakening Russia's military potential by targeting defense industry facilities, logistics infrastructure, and strategic energy assets.

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