Crimea Under Pressure: Petrol Coupons Followed by Food Limits on Sugar and Salt

(SIMFEROPOL, CRIMEA) – Food products have begun to disappear from shops across occupied Crimea, with shortages following closely behind a fuel crisis that has gripped the peninsula. Local residents report empty shelves and growing restrictions on the sale of essential goods.

Residents of Simferopol and Sevastopol have complained of shortages of staple food products. Amid mounting public panic, people have begun buying up goods “in reserve,” forcing retailers to introduce strict purchase limits.

“Essential goods were the first to be hit: sugar, rice, buckwheat, salt, flour, oil, and pasta. Due to logistics problems and panic buying, some stores have already begun to introduce restrictions on the sale of goods per person,” one local report stated.

In Sevastopol, shops are now selling no more than three packages of pasta, three bottles of oil, or three kilogrammes of cereals and sugar per customer.

The food shortages follow earlier logistical disruptions across the occupied peninsula. The sale of oil and pasta had already been restricted in Sevastopol due to strikes on supply routes. Petrol is now dispensed exclusively by coupon, with a strict limit of up to 20 litres per person.

The free sale of petrol has been completely halted in occupied Crimea, according to the Russian installed official Sergey Aksyonov.