{
  "id": 4711115,
  "title": "Is Russia’s fuel crisis a temporary squeeze or the collapse of an industry? Two leading economists debated the question, unable to agree on how much refining capacity is left.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/is-russias-fuel-crisis-a-temporary-squeeze-or-the-collapse-of-an",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-31T20:22:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/08/31/is-russia-s-fuel-crisis-a-temporary-squeeze-or-the-collapse-of-an-industry-two-leading-economists-debated-the-question-unable-to-agree-on-how-much-refining-capacity-is-left"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Two prominent Russian economists, Sergey Vakulenko and Vyacheslav Shiryaev, engaged in a heated debate about the current state of Russia's oil refining industry on The Breakfast Show. Vakulenko argued that refining output has only fallen by 25-28%, while Shiryaev claimed that 65-70% of the country's refining capacity has been severely damaged. They disagreed on the reliability of official data and the severity of the \"crisis\" currently facing the Russian fuel industry.",
  "summary": "On August 17, Sergey Vakulenko, a senior fellow at the Berlin-based Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said on The Breakfast Show that despite Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries, Russia’s refining output remains fairly high. By his estimate, refining has fallen by only 25–28%. Two days later, economic commentator Vyacheslav Shiryaev criticized Vakulenko on the same program, calling his remarks…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Meduza (English)",
        "title": "Russia’s fix for its fuel shortage: let gas stations sell the low-grade fuel that harms modern cars",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/russias-fix-for-its-fuel-shortage-let-gas-stations-sell-the-low-grade",
        "published": "2026-08-31T18:21:37.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}