Russia's Jet Fuel Crisis Worsens as Airports Impose Refueling Restrictions

Over two dozen major airports in Russia have imposed refueling restrictions as the country’s fuel crisis worsens, according to a media investigation.The restrictions often meant flights received only enough jet fuel for one flight based on their flight plans.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.Russian outlet Vertska reported on Friday that at least 26 major airports imposed the restrictions, based on the aeronautical information system. It said that 15 of those 26 airports imposed the restrictions only on foreign airlines.“Refueling of foreign airlines’ aircraft is limited to the volume required for a single flight,” the Notice to Airmen or Notice to Air Missions (NOTAMs) were quoted as saying.The restrictions also apply at major airports such as St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport and the Khrabrovo Airport in Kaliningrad, the outlet noted. The restrictions at Pulkovo also last well into 2027, starting Sept. 2, 2026, and ending March 16, 2027.They also affect airports in the Urals, Volga region, Siberia, and Far East, including major hubs such as Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Ufa, Vladivostok, and Khabarovsk. In some airports, the restrictions apply to all airlines.Vertska noted that the heaviest restrictions are found in southern Russia, a region frequently subjected to Ukrainian strikes.Vertska added that it cannot track all notifications because expired ones disappear from the system.Russia’s ongoing fuel crisisUkraine has struck Russian refineries hard throughout 2026, triggering an unprecedented fuel crisis for Russia, the world’s third-largest oil producer. Other Topics of Interest Russia’s Recruitment of Foreign Fighters for Ukraine War ‘Amounts to Human Trafficking’ The Russian military’s most effective recruiting pitch to thousands of Brazilians, Colombians, Sri Lankans, Somalis, Cubans, Egyptians, South Africans, and Peruvians is simply to lie. Jet fuel, like gasoline and diesel, is also refined from crude oil and is therefore affected by the refinery strikes, as Russia can extract the oil but struggles to refine it. Ukraine claimed to have put 43% of Russia’s refining capacity offline by July.In June, Russia introduced an export ban on jet fuel running from June 1 to Nov. 30, with limited exceptions. It also imposed similar export bans on diesel and gasoline.In July, Russia was reportedly importing jet fuel from Japan via intermediaries.The Kremlin has since tried to downplay the crisis, with top officials assuring the public in July that the fuel crisis would not last, but Russian President Vladimir Putin recently acknowledged at a forum that the crisis is real and might last for some time.Putin tried to downplay the impact on Russia’s economy by claiming that it is more “profitable to export crude oil than to process it domestically.” The claim was countered by a recent think tank report suggesting that both Russia’s export revenues and volumes dropped in August. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.