Violent brawls erupt in Russian petrol queues over fuel shortages as Putin hides crisis

RUSSIANS are pummelling each other at petrol pumps as the nation’s fuel crisis deepens amid targeted Ukrainian strikes. Wild footage shows two men in a verbal spat at a Tatneft forecourt in the industrial city of Volzhsky, in southwestern Russia. The two women attacked the man at a forecourt in Volzhsky Credit: East2West The man was punched after a verbal altercation with another man at the pump Credit: East2West Two women confront one of the men before the scene explodes into a flurry of punches, slaps and pushes. The brawling comes following the escalation of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries in recent months. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Russia has shut down one major refinery at Orsk, around 1,300 kilometres from the front line, for six months after it was attacked this week. Images from the surrounding regions of Moscow reveal massive queues of cars waiting for the dwindling supplies. Two men brawled at a petrol forecourt amid souring fuel prices Credit: East2West Huge queues for petrol can be observed in the state Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk Some people have been caught stockpiling fuel, filling jerrycans at stations, while reports emerge of makeshift black-market stations popping up. Footage from the Yaroslavl Highway between Sergiev Posad and Moscow showed several stations closed, some selling only diesel, and others charging inflated prices for gasoline, The New Voice of Ukraine reports. Vladimir Putin earlier claimed the problem of petrol queues – caused by Ukrainian relentless drone strikes – was being solved. Additional incidents of violence at petrol stations have occurred across the state, including an altercation where a motorist was pushed during a dispute over fuel nozzle priority. Most read in The Sun Thick plumes of smoke with flames rise from an oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack Credit: Reuters Putin’s armed forces staged a sickening “war crime” strike on a combine harvester Credit: East2West In early July, one man repeatedly slugged another in the head at the pump, caught in shocking footage. It is understood Russia has turned to India, Kazakhstan and Morocco for gasoline imports as its domestic fuel crisis worsens. On Friday Russian authorities acknowledged that some regions face new petrol shortages. In a social media post, the Kremlin said: “The situation remains tense in several regions of the country regarding fuel supplies to service stations.” They said oil companies are taking “necessary measures to increase deliveries to the most vulnerable regions.” The Krasnodar region on the Black Sea, known for its tourist beaches, has been one of the worst hit. Regional governor Venyamin Kondratyev said: “The situation regarding petrol supplies at service stations has become complicated.” In June, for the first tim, e Vladimir Putin acknowledged that his country was facing a “certain deficit” of fuel. Meanwhile in the conflict zone, Putin’s armed forces staged a sickening “war crime” strike on a combine harvester. One farmer was killed and another wounded in the attack in Zaporizhzhia region. A car and a wheat field also caught fire in the strike on civilians. Pravda Gerashchenko Telegram channel said: “This deliberate attack on peaceful farmers is yet another war crime committed by Russia and a conscious act of terror against the civilian population.” Comment now