Russia gasoline imports from India are poised to increase further, according to industry sources, as sustained Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries continue to erode Moscow’s domestic fuel production and widen a supply gap that existing shipments have failed to close. The development marks a further escalation of a trade reversal that began in early July, when Russia, historically one of the world’s largest exporters of refined fuel, turned into a net importer of gasoline for the first time in decades.
Industry and trade sources cited by Reuters say Russian buyers are seeking to lock in additional cargoes from India beyond the volumes already shipped, as the country’s refining sector continues to absorb damage from repeated long-range strikes. The push for more Russia gasoline imports from India comes as Moscow’s options for closing its fuel deficit through other suppliers, chiefly Belarus, remain limited relative to the scale of the shortfall.
Scale of the Russian Fuel Shortage
Russia’s gasoline output has fallen by roughly 25 percent compared with the same period last year, industry data show, as Ukrainian forces have carried out more than 20 confirmed strikes on Russian oil refineries since the start of 2026, with several facilities hit multiple times. Eight of the country’s ten largest refineries have reportedly sustained damage, including the Moscow refinery in the Kapotnya district, which was struck twice within days in June, and major plants in Saratov, Volgograd, Ryazan, Kirishi, Novokuibyshev, Syzran, Tuapse and Yaroslavl.
The resulting deficit is significant. Russia’s summer gasoline demand runs at around 110,000 metric tons per day, while operating refineries are currently producing closer to 85,000 metric tons daily, leaving a structural gap of roughly 25,000 metric tons every day, equivalent to about a fifth of domestic consumption. The shortage has already driven wholesale gasoline prices in Russia above 100 rubles per litre and triggered fuel rationing, long queues at filling stations and shortages first reported in Crimea and the country’s far east before spreading to the Volga region and central and southern Russia.
Belarus, Russia’s main existing fuel supplier, has already scaled up shipments considerably, nearly tripling rail deliveries of gasoline in the first half of June compared with the first half of May, according to Reuters calculations. However, industry sources say that volume alone cannot offset the scale of the shortfall, which is why Moscow has turned to India as it looks to secure additional Russia gasoline imports on top of what has already been dispatched.
Russia Gasoline Imports From India – How the Trade Began
Reuters first reported on July 1 that Russia had begun importing gasoline by sea from India, with at least 60,000 metric tons of fuel already shipped and two tankers, each carrying between 30,000 and 40,000 metric tons, dispatched from Indian ports. A third industry source said at the time that Moscow intended to import as much as 400,000 metric tons of gasoline per month from multiple foreign suppliers, a target that would make India, alongside Belarus, one of Russia’s principal sources of imported fuel. The identity of the Indian supplier or suppliers involved in the shipments has not been publicly disclosed.
The trade is underpinned by India’s position as the largest buyer of Russian crude oil since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. India Russian crude oil imports climbed to a record 2.7 million barrels per day in June, according to data from Kpler and LSEG, with Russian oil accounting for more than half of India’s total crude imports that month, up from 36.5 percent in May.
Refiners in India process a portion of that discounted Russian crude and re-export finished products, including gasoline, to buyers across Asia and beyond, with Indian gasoline exports reaching a record 400,000 barrels per day in 2025, according to Reuters citing Wood Mackenzie. That existing trade flow gives Indian refiners a ready supply of fuel to redirect towards Russia as demand rises.
One notable complication is fuel specification. Indian gasoline typically contains around 20 percent ethanol, roughly double the blending standard Russia permits domestically, which authorities raised to accommodate import needs following the wave of Ukrainian strikes. Adjusting to that specification is among the technical issues Russian authorities are understood to be working through as they seek to scale up Russia gasoline imports from India.
Policy Response and the Wider Russia Fuel Crisis 2026
Russia’s parliament has approved tax code amendments intended to address the fuel shortage, including subsidies for companies that import gasoline from abroad, covering costs linked to purchasing and transporting fuel from India. The Kremlin has confirmed it is in discussions with several countries on fuel imports at commercially viable prices, and Moscow reimposed a ban on gasoline exports by domestic producers earlier this year, extending it through the end of July in an effort to preserve supply for the domestic market during peak summer demand.
The broader picture reflects what analysts have described as the most severe disruption to Russian refining capacity from the war to date, with the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre estimating that Ukrainian attacks have at times taken as much as 38 percent of the country’s roughly 327-million-tonne annual refining capacity offline. Ukraine’s defence ministry has said its campaign against Russian refineries and fuel logistics facilities is intended to weaken Moscow’s military supply chains, and officials have indicated the pressure is likely to continue in the coming weeks.
For India, the growing volume of Russia gasoline imports adds a new dimension to an energy relationship already central to its economy, layering fuel exports on top of record crude purchases at a time when Washington continues to press New Delhi over its reliance on Russian oil. How far Indian refiners are willing to expand gasoline shipments to Russia, and whether Moscow can secure the volumes it is seeking, is likely to become clearer as the Ukraine refinery attacks and Russia’s fuel crisis in 2026 continue to unfold.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, July 16, 2026
Follow SouthAsianDesk on X, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business and current affairs from across South Asia.
