Guards are brought in to keep order as huge queues form at Russian petrol stations following wave of successful Ukrainian attacks on refineries

By PERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 18:49, 9 July 2026 | Updated: 18:51, 9 July 2026 Russian authorities have been forced to call in Cossack guards to keep order at petrol stations as infuriated drivers have lashed out at nationwide fuel shortages caused by Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries.  The attacks, following Russia's pounding of Ukrainian power facilities, have ‌forced the world's third-biggest oil producer to import gasoline from as far away as India.  Long queues of cars now snake back at filling stations across Russia as drivers feel the impact of the Ukrainian strikes, designed to put pressure on Russia to make ​peace after more than four years of war.  Shortages of petrol and diesel are paralysing Russia with gargantuan queues at filling stations where prices are spiralling, and people are losing patience.  In a sign of concern that motorists' tempers ​could boil over, authorities in the popular Black Sea resort of Anapa said Cossacks were helping keep order as cars lined up for fuel. 'They regulate traffic flow, prevent conflicts and attempts to ‌fill petrol ⁠cans with fuel, and ensure that the queue is maintained in an orderly manner,' the city administration said. Cossacks are a historic military and social community known for their distinctive uniforms and fur hats. By tradition, Cossacks protected Russia's borderlands but have sometimes been used in recent years to back up the police. Like other places in Russia and parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine, Anapa restricts drivers to buying 20 litres of gasoline per car, which a resident, Aleksandra Nesterenko, told a local TV station was enough for about ​a week. The changes have helped trim waiting ​times to 30 to 40 minutes ⁠from up to four hours, Arsen Melkumyan, an administration official, said in the video. Authorities in the popular Black Sea resort of Anapa said Cossacks were helping keep order as cars lined up for fuel The drone strikes oil tanker Blue in the Black Sea off Crimean port Yalta Dramatic footage shows a Sea Baby marine drone dodging intense incoming Russian fire Anatoly Kasyanov, wearing a khaki uniform and a traditional fur hat, said in the video the Cossacks were 'helping people navigate at the petrol station and preventing conflicts.'  Anapa is one of ​the most crowded resorts in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, where energy infrastructure is a frequent target of Kyiv's air attacks. Police ​in Krasnodar said they ⁠had detained two men after 1,000 litres of AI-95 gasoline was found in their car and that they were suspected of re-selling the fuel at a higher price. The city of Novorossiysk, further south along the Black Sea coast, said last week it had suspended gasoline sales to private motorists, but state media said these later resumed.   Overnight, Ukraine hit two more major oil hubs with smoke gushing from depots in Tver as well as Mikhailovsk, in the Stavropol region, after new failures by Russian air defences. The number of oil tankers hit by Ukrainian drones has now reached two dozen this week, paralysing supplies to annexed peninsula Crimea. Five more were reported to have been hit and set ablaze overnight in the Azov Sea.  Two were struck in Taganrog Bay, admitted Putin's top official in Rostov region, Yuri Slyusar. As a result of the strikes, Russian citizens have been left increasingly agitated and ready to fight each other for petrol.   One Telegram video appears to show two pairs of men trading punches outside a petrol station as a shocked onlooker films the brawl, saying: 'It's so scary to live like this.' Cossacks are a historic military and social community known for their distinctive uniforms and fur hats By tradition, Cossacks protected Russia's borderlands but have sometimes been used in recent years to back up the police. One Telegram video appears to show two pairs of men trading punches outside a petrol station Another clip shows a woman yanking a petrol pump away from a motorcyclist accused of jumping the queue. 'I've been waiting an hour,' he protests, prompting others nearby to shout back: 'We've been here for four hours!' The latest videos join a growing stream of footage from across Russia over recent weeks, showing ordinary people from Moscow to Crimea brawling over dwindling fuel supplies. Other clips show motorists throwing punches at petrol pumps, while one video appears to capture a man pulling a gun on someone accused of queue-jumping. In another incident, the confrontation escalated so dramatically that a woman was left with a bloodied nose after allegedly being punched by an impatient man. Two lawmakers from the Communist Party, which is nominally in opposition to the ruling United Russia faction but is ​usually fully supportive of the Kremlin, voiced scathing attacks on the government's handling of the issue ahead of a parliamentary election ⁠due in September.  One of them, Vyacheslav Markhayev, said people were queuing 36 hours to get just 15 litres of gasoline in the far eastern Zabaikalsky region. He demanded to ​know why no lessons had been learned from earlier strikes on refineries, and said those responsible should be fired and prosecuted. 'These aren't just supply disruptions - this is a failure ​of state governance,' Markhayev posted on social media. A woman walks in a park as smoke billows in the background following a reported Ukrainian drone attack, in Moscow, Russia Another clip shows a woman yanking a petrol pump away from a motorcyclist accused of jumping the queue Another Communist deputy, Nina Ostanina, questioned a statement by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak saying the market was adequately supplied with fuel. She asked why he would not 'simply admit that nearly a third of our oil refineries are out of commission?' President Vladimir Putin acknowledged on June 28 that fuel supply problems had created shortages in Russian regions ​and said a task force was working on ensuring sufficient quantities were provided throughout the country. Last week, Russia allowed refiners ⁠to produce ​gasoline and diesel with higher sulphur content for six months until the end of the year, a ​government decree showed, adding to other measures taken to ease the crisis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed peace talks several times with Putin, but Russia has pressed on with the full-scale invasion it began in 2022. ​Both sides exchange attacks nearly daily.