Russia Receives First Gasoline Cargo From India as Fuel Shortages Spread

Russia has received its first gasoline shipment from India, amid a surge in fuel shortages triggered by Ukrainian attacks on refining infrastructure. The 68,000-metric-ton cargo, produced by Nayara Energy at its Vadinar refinery in western India, was delivered via ship-to-ship transfer at Port Said, Egypt, to Russia's Arctic port of Vitino.

Two additional gasoline shipments from India are anticipated to arrive in the coming weeks. As a result of these shortages, filling stations in at least 10 Russian regions have imposed sales restrictions or run out of certain fuel grades, with shortages now extending to the Moscow region. The St. Petersburg exchange has seen a 20% drop in gasoline sales since the beginning of August.

Russia had previously relied on Belarus for gasoline imports to mitigate domestic supply gaps. However, with refining outages now severely limiting fuel availability within the country, Russia is now importing gasoline and diesel from Asia by sea. Ukraine's relentless attacks on Russia's refining system have exacerbated the crisis, with the 120,000-barrel-per-day Orsk refinery, a major casualty of an August 11 Ukrainian attack, potentially remaining offline for up to six months.

This shutdown has further tightened fuel supplies in Russia's Urals region. Russia is also experiencing a decline in fuel exports. Seaborne petroleum-product exports dropped by 33.3% in July from June and 54.7% from July 2025, according to Reuters calculations based on LSEG data, as refining outages reduced available cargoes. Nayara's Vadinar refinery is a significant purchaser of Russian crude, though it remains unclear if Russian oil was utilized in the production of the gasoline delivered to Vitino.

Ongoing Ukrainian attacks continue to pose a threat to Russia's energy infrastructure. On Monday, at least six people were killed and four wounded in the village of Koloskovo in Russia's Belgorod region when Ukrainian rockets struck. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that another 205 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Russian territory and occupied Crimea overnight.