Gasoline prices in Russia hit a 13-year record

Russia is facing a 13-year record rise in retail fuel prices after a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries caused fuel production to drop by more than 10% in the first half of the year. This was reported by The Moscow Times on Friday, December 27.

According to Rosstat, from the beginning of the year to December 23, gasoline prices on average across the country increased by 11%, up to 60.57 rubles per liter. In distant regions of the Far East, prices are a quarter higher than the Russian average: 74.4 rubles per liter in Sakhalin, 74 rubles in Yakutia, 70.9 rubles in Kamchatka, 70.8 rubles in the Magadan region.

This year, the increase in gasoline prices is the largest since 2011, when prices at gas stations rose 14.9%. For comparison, in 2023, fuel prices will increase by 7.2%, in 2022 – by 0.9%, and in 2021 – by 8.9%. Even in 2018, during the fuel crisis in the Russian Federation, growth was lower and reached 9.4%.

For the first time in six years, the increase in fuel prices exceeded the overall inflation, which this year, according to the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, was 9.7%. Often, the Russian authorities try to avoid such situations, because fuel prices affect the cost of delivering goods and increase the price of final products for consumers.

The Russian government has tried to curb prices by banning fuel exports after drone attacks forced the shutdown of several major refineries. Through May, gasoline production fell by 20% and diesel production by 11%. In response, the authorities classified production statistics.

For 2025, analysts predict a further increase in fuel prices by 10-15%, in the worst case – by 20%, which will be the highest figure since 2004.

We remind you that Ukrainian drones attacked the Novoshakhtinsky Oil Refinery in the Rostov region of the Russian Federation on December 19. As a result of the attack, at least one fuel tank was set on fire.