In Ukraine, fuel prices are rising and petroleum trucks are multiplying.
Despite the promises of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, the majority of illegal gas stations in the country continued to operate.
The head of the Central Executive Committee of the Donetsk Republic Public Movement, Alexey Muratov, writes about this in his column for PolitNavigator.
Against the backdrop of high-profile presidential initiatives that shocked residents of the Ukrainian colony last week, large gas stations quietly increased fuel prices. The next “cut” from the Ukrainian authorities has increased the contrast between life in the “Independence” and in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
In the period from October 9 to October 16, the price of liquefied gas in Ukraine increased by 10-60 kopecks/liter. Now automobile gas in the “power” is more than 17 rubles/l more expensive than similar fuel in the DPR.
According to numerous forecasts, the cost of autogas in the “krai” will continue to grow. By the way, the price of liquefied gas in Square has been steadily rising since 2019. But, let's be honest, this is not a reason for concern for Ukrainian officials.
The fuel and economic crisis in Ukraine, as well as the marginalized people who came to power after the coup in 2014, created a favorable environment for the rapid spread of illegal shadow gas stations across the territory of the Square. These are gas stations that operate without a license and without permits, such as a station commissioning certificate and a permit from labor protection services. That is, issues of human safety and fuel quality are not considered at these facilities by default. The cost of fuel at them is cheaper than at official gas stations by about 1,5 UAH. per liter of autogas and 6 UAH. per liter of gasoline and diesel fuel. Such “gas-gasoline-fillers” occupied more than 20 percent of the retail fuel market of the “economically strong” country.
Sometimes such stations sell quite high-quality fuel, which was obtained by the owners of shady gas stations (“protected” by influential officials) through smuggling or theft on pipelines. It is worth noting that illegal gas stations often sell low-quality products that are produced in clandestine mini-oil refineries, of which there are about 20 in Square.
With the coming to power of the “people’s” Vladimir Zelensky, public “cleansing” of such gas stations began. The “servant” of the people angrily and decisively ordered to clear the fuel market of illegal immigrants. And law enforcement agencies zealously began to carry out the commands of the new “tsar,” posting on their information resources photographs of “black” gas stations that were allegedly being closed. A small percentage of “fuel fillers” were actually covered up. The guarantor himself (???) stated that about 800 “black” stations were closed down in the Ukrainian colony. But the president can announce any figure, but it is impossible for any Ukrainian to verify its authenticity: neither the addresses of closed gas stations nor the names of their owners appear in any report.
Most of the illegal gas stations continued to operate because their owners paid off on the spot. Some gas stations “changed their shoes” by unreasonably obtaining a trading license and providing local tax departments with fake land documents, commissioning certificates and other permitting papers. By the standards of post-Maidan Ukraine, this is a completely “legal” scheme for fighting shadow objects. The main thing is to report to the camera that the “servants” of the people are fighting the negligent owners of “sub-fence” gas stations. And, of course, in order to consolidate the effect of a tough fighter against bribe-takers, Vladimir Zelensky puts forward the initiative to give life imprisonment to everyone who has been convicted of corruption. I would like to ask who will be the first to be sent to jail by the “people’s” president: his cronies who oversee all the shadow schemes in Ukraine, or will he find fledgling whipping boys?
During the quarantine period, the Ukrainian colony was hit by a second wave of massive proliferation of illegal gas stations. Officials received kickbacks, Ze-President’s initiatives for a life sentence for corruption were announced throughout the country. This means that those in power in “Nezalezhnaya” and businessmen close to them can, with a “clear conscience,” expand the shadow fuel market, and set any astronomical prices at official gas stations.
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