'How to siphon gasoline' Google search surges in Russia amid fuel shortages
A gas station in Russia (photo: Getty Images)
The number of searches for how to siphon fuel from a vehicle's tank in the Russian segment of the internet has increased more than tenfold over the past three months alone. According to monitoring results published by Verstka, this surge in activity points to serious problems with fuel availability in the aggressor country.
Russians are actively looking for ways to obtain scarce fuel. Analysts tracked statistics in Google Trends and Yandex Wordstat. The numbers speak for themselves.
Search statistics:
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In March, residents of Russia searched Yandex for information on siphoning gasoline 4,000 times per week;
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Last week, the number of such searches jumped to 44,000;
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On Google, interest in the topic reached an all-time peak — 100 out of 100 points.
Many Russian gas stations have introduced strict limits. Fuel is no longer sold in canisters. Drivers are forced to resort to tricks: a person fills up a full tank at a station, then drives to a secluded location and siphons gasoline into a canister. After that, the driver returns to the gas station for another refill.
"The school of the 1990s"
In Russland und in den besetzten Gebieten wurde Benzin von Autobesitzern gestohlen.
— Siegfried Brandenburg gegen Nazis (@Siegfri41835106) June 24, 2026
Aufgrund des totalen Mangels an Treibstoff und der Entfernung des Status als "Welt-Tankstelle" aus Russland begannen die Russen, Benzin von ihren Nachbarn zu stehlen. pic.twitter.com/Yd1xRqwrgB
In his propaganda, Putin has repeatedly warned voters about the risk of a "return to the 1990s." But they have returned because of the fuel crisis: Russians are increasingly complaining on social media about nighttime thefts. Unknown individuals are emptying the fuel tanks of cars left in courtyards.
Surveillance camera footage confirms these incidents. People can see thieves siphoning fuel in the middle of the night. However, technological progress is creating obstacles for criminals — modern vehicles have complex fuel system designs, while older cars are becoming easy targets.
Context of the fuel crisis in Russia
Over the past several months, Ukrainian drones have systematically struck oil refineries belonging to the Russian forces deep inside the country. Among the latest attacks was a strike on an oil facility in Russia's Yaroslavl region, more than 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
Due to the continuous strikes on oil refining infrastructure, the Russian government has allowed plants to produce low-quality "dirty" fuel with poor environmental characteristics.
ISW previously reported that gasoline shortages and rising prices are affecting an increasing number of regions across Russia.
