Gas stations on the Russian-controlled Crimean peninsula ran out of gas on Sunday, witnesses told Reuters, amid an escalating Ukrainian campaign against supply lines to the peninsula, BTA reports.
A witness in Sevastopol, the peninsula's largest city, said most local gas stations were out of fuel and supplies were barely meeting demand even under rationing imposed in recent weeks.
Another witness, in the resort town of Yevpatoria, said there was a long queue outside the only working gas station there.
Ukraine steps up drone strikes on supply lines supplies to the peninsula, which Russia seized from Kiev in 2014. Local authorities have imposed fuel rationing, with some food items also running short, Reuters reported.
Media and social media outlets have reported fuel shortages in about a dozen regions in Russia, according to data compiled by Reuters. Apart from Russian-controlled Crimea, only two regions in Siberia have officially confirmed shortages.
Most other regions have said the situation is under control and that some disruptions were caused by panic buying. Moscow has denied any fuel supply problems.
In Moscow, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told a government meeting that he had issued instructions to set up a forecasting system to guard against difficulties in distributing fuel and meeting domestic demand.