Cossacks and volunteers have stepped in to help city officials and police keep order and prevent conflicts at petrol stations in the popular Russian Black Sea resort of Anapa, as Ukrainian attacks worsen a countrywide fuel crisis.
Efforts to Maintain Order
Strikes by Ukraine on energy infrastructure in Russia have triggered a fuel crisis in the world’s largest country by territory, forcing it to import gasoline from as far away as India. In Anapa, a popular vacation spot in the southern region of Krasnodar, Cossacks are among those helping to prevent fights when cars line up for fuel, the city’s administration said.
They regulate traffic flow, prevent conflicts and attempts to fill petrol cans with fuel, and ensure that the queue is maintained in an orderly manner. Like other places in Russia and parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine, Anapa restricts drivers to buying 20 litres of gasoline per car, which a resident said was enough for about a week.
Impact on Locals
The changes have helped trim waiting times to 30 to 40 minutes from up to four hours, an administration official said. One of the Cossacks, Anatoly Kasyanov, said they serve their homeland and the Orthodox faith, helping people navigate at the petrol station and preventing conflicts.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.