Russia Buying Gasoline From India To Tackle Fuel Shortages Triggered By Ukrainian Drone Strikes

Published 1 July 2026 · local

Russia Buying Gasoline From India To Tackle Fuel Shortages Triggered By Ukrainian Drone Strikes Published By, Last Updated: July 01, 2026, 23:04 IST Russia imports

Russia Buying Gasoline From India To Tackle Fuel Shortages Triggered By Ukrainian Drone Strikes Published By, Last Updated: July 01, 2026, 23:04 IST Russia imports Indian gasoline by sea to ease shortages after Ukrainian drone strikes, while Indian refiners hit a record 2.70 million barrels per day of Russian crude in June Sailors work on the deck of an Indian-flagged oil tanker docked near an offloading terminal at Butcher Island, off the coast in Mumbai. (AFP) Russia has started importing gasoline from India by sea to tackle nationwide fuel shortages triggered by Ukrainian drone strikes on its refineries, two industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday, even as separate ship tracking data showed Indian refiners bought a record 2.70 million barrels per day of Russian crude oil in June. Tankers Dispatched, As Fuel Shortages Spread Across Russia At least 60,000 metric tons of gasoline have been dispatched from India to Russia, one of the sources said. Another source put the figure at two tankers, each carrying between 30,000 and 40,000 tons. A third source said Russia intends to import 400,000 tons of gasoline every month from several countries to plug the gap, including Belarus, which has already been sending fuel to Russia by rail for months. Russian gasoline consumption runs to at least 110,000 tons a day in summer, when demand for fuel peaks and shortages bite hardest, the sources said.

It remains unclear which Indian refiner is supplying the cargoes, and neither country’s oil ministry has confirmed the identity of the buyer or seller. The shortages have left drivers across Russia’s 11 time zones facing rationing and long queues at filling stations, alongside a record increase in gasoline prices at the pump. President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the disruption on Sunday at a meeting with government ministers and other officials, telling them that Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries had triggered fuel shortages in some regions, though he said the government was already dealing with them. Belarus Rail Supplies Nearly Triple, Tax Code Changed Belarus almost tripled its gasoline rail shipments to Russia, sending more than 70,000 tons in the first half of June compared with the first half of May, according to Reuters calculations based on data and sources. Russia’s parliament approved amendments to the tax code last week aimed specifically at tackling the fuel shortages caused by the drone attacks, including subsidies on fuel imports pegged to Indian delivery costs and prices. The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia was in contact with other countries and discussing imports of fuel at acceptable prices, without naming which countries were involved. India’s Russian Oil Imports Climb To A Record 2.70 Million Barrels-Per-Day Separately, India’s imports of Russian crude climbed to their highest level on record in June, according to ship tracking data from LSEG and Kpler.