Fuel crisis in Russia: Satellite images appear to show 7 kilometer long line at pumping station

Russian state media tried hard to dismiss shocking videos of massive, miles-long lines at gas stations in the eastern Zabaykalsky region.

Propagandists claimed the footage was entirely fake, calling it AI-generated.

However, newly released satellite imagery shows that the traffic jams were completely real.

Seven-kilometer line

The revealing photos were made public by open-source intelligence researchers from a Telegram channel called Dnipro OSINT.

They acted after several pro-Kremlin accounts alleged that a seven-kilometer queue of cars in the city of Chita was just an artificial intelligence trick.

Kremlin-backed media figures expressed frustration over the sudden transparency. “Russian fuel problems are being used skillfully by the enemy, which is trying to squeeze the maximum out of the situation,” one pro-Kremlin Telegram channel complained.

Despite these efforts to deny the crisis, the online backlash from angry Russian drivers forced state media channels to lock down their comments sections entirely. No one was buying the fake news excuse.

Slashing the supply

This widespread fuel crunch is not an accident. It stems from a major strategic operation authorized directly by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Security Service of Ukraine has spent over a month coordinating deep strikes to squeeze Moscow’s economy and disrupt its military machinery.

The strategy appears to be working. The ongoing crisis threatens to become the deepest domestic fuel shortage in the country’s modern history. In fact, official gasoline restrictions have already hit more than 40 separate regions across the nation.

The true scale of the damage became clear in June. Russian crude oil refining volumes dropped by a staggering 25% compared to the previous year, The Moscow Times reported.

This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, who may have used AI in the preparation