Trash crisis hits a city in Russia’s Dagestan after bad fuel sidelines half its garbage trucks

A garbage crisis has hit Kaspiysk, a city in Russia's Dagestan region, after twelve of its twenty-two garbage trucks broke down from poor-quality fuel. Meduza reports the trucks were damaged days after being filled with substandard diesel, each requiring seventy-five thousand rubles in repairs. While most have since been fixed, trash has accumulated faster than crews can clear it. The breakdown reflects a broader fuel crisis: Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have prompted Moscow to temporarily authorize lower-grade fuel—Euro-2 and Euro-3 standards instead of Euro-5—through July twenty twenty-seven. These lower-standard fuels contain significantly more sulfur and other impurities, damaging both the environment and modern vehicles.

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