Russia's fuel shortage hits hospitals and emergency services
A gas station in Russia (photo: Getty Images)
Government agencies in many Russian regions are unable to buy gasoline from suppliers, who have simply stopped participating in tenders, according to Izvestia.
Fuel procurement for hospitals, fire departments, and municipal services has begun to fail due to the gasoline shortage. In May and June, the number of canceled, unsuccessful, or re-announced tenders for medical institutions, municipal services, and emergency responders tripled compared to last year.
It has become unprofitable for suppliers to work under fixed-price government contracts. By the time the tender process is completed, the market price of fuel has already increased, so companies prefer to sell gasoline through retail networks or to commercial customers instead of participating in government procurement.
For example, the Samara Regional Medical Center, Dynasty, failed to purchase 8,500 liters of AI-92 gasoline for 580,000 rubles (about $7,400) because not a single bid was submitted.
For the same reason, the procurement of 28,000 liters of AI-95 gasoline for the Darina rehabilitation center in the Leningrad region also failed. The vehicle fleet of the Tambov administration was also left without a supplier after attempting to purchase gasoline and diesel fuel worth 2 million rubles (about $25,500).
In the Vladimir region, the 2.2 million-ruble (about $28,000) tender of the Gorelektroset company was declared unsuccessful. In the Stavropol region, the fire and rescue service had to reannounce its fuel procurement several times before eventually signing a contract with a single supplier.
The Tuapse Social Service Center in the Krasnodar region ultimately purchased fuel in the same way.
Background
After continuous successful strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian oil refineries, Russia entered a full-scale fuel crisis. Fuel processing in the world's gas stations has fallen back by 21 years.
Even Putin was forced to acknowledge the crisis. According to him, the strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine caused certain problems with petroleum products in Russia. At the same time, he assured that the situation is supposedly being gradually stabilized.
Meanwhile, the fuel crisis is also being felt on the front line. According to the ATESH resistance movement, Russian forces in southern Ukraine have restricted fuel supplies for mobile fire groups and air defense units due to the fuel shortage.
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