At least two elderly people have died while waiting in queues at gas stations as Russia faces an escalating nationwide fuel shortage tied to a sharp decline in its oil refining capacity.

On the evening of July 14, an 80-year-old man died while waiting at a filling station in the city of Lysva, located in Russia’s Perm Krai, The Caspian Post reports, citing Russian media.

According to the Perm Krai Ministry of Health, emergency medical workers attempted to resuscitate the man, but their efforts were unsuccessful. The preliminary cause of death was determined to be heart failure.

Earlier, a 75-year-old driver also died while standing in line at a gas station in Petrozavodsk, the capital of Russia’s Republic of Karelia.

Independent outlet ASTRA, citing eyewitness accounts, reported that the incident took place near the Republican Hospital. Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed the death but did not provide information about the cause.

The two incidents occurred as Russia experiences one of its most serious fuel shortages in recent years.

According to sources, Ukrainian drone attacks have disrupted around 40% of Russia’s oil refining capacity, causing major disruptions to fuel production and distribution networks.

Industry figures illustrate the severity of the situation. EA Analytics estimates that Russia’s oil refining output dropped to 3.91 million barrels per day in July, the lowest level since 2005 and 27% lower than the figure recorded during the same period a year earlier. Energy Intelligence estimates an even lower production level of 3.58 million barrels per day, which would mark the weakest refining performance since 2002.

Energy Intelligence also estimates that oil refining facilities with a combined capacity of approximately 3.1 million barrels per day are currently offline. At the same time, Russia is facing a monthly shortage of between 400,000 and 600,000 metric tons of petroleum products.

In response to the crisis, authorities have implemented official fuel sales restrictions in more than 40 regions. However, various forms of fuel rationing and sales limitations are effectively being enforced across nearly all Russian regions, as well as in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, underscoring the scale of the country’s worsening fuel crisis.