PANIC: Russians scramble to buy sugar amidst shortage

Videos of Russians fighting over sugar in supermarkets have emerged amongst fears of a food shortage caused by Western sanctions over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to reports.

Vice News said the videos of Russian citizens wrestling and shoving to grab bags of sugar were “reminiscent of the last days of the Soviet Union,” with some stores imposing limits on how much customers can buy.

There have even been reports of people attacking anyone they think is panic-buying, including an incident in the northern city of Severodvinsk where a man with five bags of sugar in his shopping basket was punched five times in the face by another customer, according to Vice.

Сахарные бои в Мордоре продолжаются pic.twitter.com/hjdphblFNc

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Sugar is used by Russians to preserve large amounts of fruit or make moonshine, says Vice.

Russian officials have urged its citizens to not panic-buy sugar and other food staples, reported Fox News.

"Russians have absolutely no need to run to the shops and buy up buckwheat, sugar and toilet paper," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday during a press conference. “The fuss around supplies in food stores is extremely emotional.”

The country’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) said Thursday it would be inspecting sugar producers and retail chains for “unjustified” shortages in some region, reported Reuters.

"The absence of sugar on shop shelves in several regions is due to a rush in demand, which is being fuelled by dishonest organisations," FAS said in a statement.

Sugar prices have jumped 12.8% over the last week, according to Reuters. Authorities have banned sugar exports until Aug. 31 and set a duty-free quota for imports 300,000 tons of sugar and raw sugar in hopes it will ease domestic food inflation.