New McDonalds in Russia runs out of chips days after customers served mouldy burgers

Russia's awful new version of McDonald's is running low on potatoes, which has forced them to temporarily stop serving the fast food staple of French fries just days after they were caught flogging mouldy food.

The faltering fast food chain Vkusno i Tochka - translating to 'Tasty and that's it' - has become the country's new premier chain since Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

The first McDonald's, which opened in the middle of Moscow shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, became a symbol of the easing of the Cold War.

However, the McDonald's Corporation pulled out of Russia to protest the country's invasion of Ukraine.

McDonald's decision to leave followed several American food and beverage giants including Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Starbucks pausing or closing operations Russia due to western sanctions.

The Russian food chain was then revamped to take the American-origin chain's place.

The new business, which opened with a rebranded menu and new staff uniforms, has run into trouble with its supply chain less than a month after opening its doors on June 12.

Just days after seemingly serving burgers covered in mould, the fast-food restaurant has run out of potatoes to make and serve French fries.

Vkusno i Tochka - which initially had huge crowds queuing up for its food - put out a statement via Russian news agency Tass, explaining that it had been affected by a poor 2021 potato harvest.

They shared that though they had tried to source potatoes from Russian suppliers, importing it from external markets had become impossible.

However, the Russian agriculture ministry disputed Vkusno i Tochka's claims of being unable to source domestic potatoes.

The ministry's statement said: "The Russian market is fully supplied with potatoes, including processed ones. In addition, crops from the new harvest are already arriving, which rules out the possibility of a shortage."

Though this statement may be part of a state-wide propaganda to downplay how Western sanctions have impacted Russia's economy.

While the fast food company expects to return to its normal menu by autumn, its struggle to fulfil basic food demands of McDonald's customers has raised questions over the whether it can really replace the global fast food brand.

Earlier this month, customers complained of mould on burger buns in several outlets of the chain, suggesting they were struggling to source fresh buns as well. In another incident, "insect legs" were also allegedly found in the burgers.