Russians are searching ‘how to siphon gas’ ten times more often than three months ago

In late March, Russians were searching Yandex for instructions on “how to siphon gas” roughly 4,000 times a week. Over the past week, that figure reached nearly 44,000.

Google data shows that Russian interest in the query stood at 8 to 10 points in March. Last week it climbed to 43 points, and in the current week — only just begun — interest has already hit 100 points, the maximum possible score.

Amid this, Russians have been posting on social media about strangers draining gas from their cars or from vehicles belonging to people they know. Some of these incidents have been caught on video.

A fuel crisis has begun in Russian regions following Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries and fuel depots.