{
  "id": 1742474,
  "title": "Less than a third of Russian gas stations have fuel",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/less-than-a-third-of-russian-gas-stations-have-fuel",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-18T15:49:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/08/18/less-than-a-third-of-russian-gas-stations-have-fuel"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "According to the pro-government newspaper Izvestia, less than a third of Russian gas stations were able to provide gasoline and diesel as of August 16. The availability had dropped from 41% a week earlier. Shortages were reported in multiple regions, including Volgograd, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Voronezh, Samara, Penza, Saratov, Lipetsk, Rostov, and Tatarstan. Media outlets and social media users also noted fuel problems in 13 regions. In Moscow, Izvestia only found fuel at 7 out of 21 stations. Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev acknowledged the issue, stating authorities are \"actively working to solve this problem.\" Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil facilities are believed to be the main cause of the fuel crisis.",
  "summary": "Gasoline and diesel were available at just 28% of Russian gas stations tracked in the ‘GdeBenz’ app’s database as of August 16, the pro-government newspaper Izvestia reported, based on its own analysis of the service’s data.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Euromaidan Press",
        "title": "Operation Hell-2: Azov says it burned 4,221 tons of Russian fuel in occupied Donetsk Oblast",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/operation-hell-2-azov-says-it-burned-4-221-tons-of-russian-fuel-in",
        "published": "2026-08-18T15:27:08.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}