The tangible shortage of fuel at gas stations in some regions of Ukraine, which formed this week, is due to the destructive strikes of the enemy during the last three weeks on the fuel infrastructure of Ukraine, but this deficit will be eliminated within a week, said First Deputy Prime Minister - Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko.
"Within the next seven days, the deficit will be eliminated, as operators have contracted volumes in Western Europe and now we are solving the issue of how to bring them into Ukraine as quickly as possible," she wrote on her Facebook page on Friday.
Sviridenko noted that this situation will lead to a slight increase in the price of petroleum products. "This is primarily due to the higher cost of logistics due to complex routes and the use of several modes of transport," the first deputy prime minister explained.
Speaking about the situation on the market, she pointed out that since the beginning of the war the Government had been working through the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Economy on a daily basis with the market operators to provide the population and businesses with petroleum products. Decisions have been taken that significantly reduced the impact on the economy of the sharp rise of oil products prices in world markets, in particular, the excise duty was canceled and VAT was reduced from 20% to 7%.
At the same time, Russia, as the aggressor country, is trying to stop the economy of Ukraine by creating an artificial shortage of fuel, Sviridenko said. And the destruction of the Kremenchuk oil refinery, which was the main producer of fuel in Ukraine, as well as a number of oil depots of market operators with significant reserves of fuel have led to a temporary shortage, which will be eliminated within a week.
As reported, the prices for gasoline and diesel fuel are currently capped by the government at 34.10 UAH/l and 38.7 UAH/l, respectively. However, according to Serhiy Kuyun, director of the A-95 consulting group, the fuel shortage determines its real price in the market at UAH 40/litre and UAH 45/litre, despite the limit prices set by the government.
