Russia Imports Indian Fuel as Ukraine Cripples Refineries
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- Russia is set to receive a 42,000-tonne petrol shipment from India's Vadinar refinery at the Beloye More terminal in northern Russia on Sunday, according to Kpler data — the largest single batch of imported petrol since the crisis began.
- Ukrainian drone strikes have cut Russia's domestic refining capacity by about 40%, triggering the worst fuel crisis since the Soviet collapse and affecting roughly 50 million Russians, according to an FT estimate.
- Vadinar refinery, owned by India's Nayara Energy in which Russia's state-controlled Rosneft holds a 49% stake, processed over 90% Russian crude in 2026; Nayara denied selling fuel to Russian companies or planning to.
- Belarus tripled its petrol sales to Russia month-on-month in June to 184,000 tonnes — a 184-fold year-on-year increase, per Price Benchmark Centre data — becoming another key foreign supplier.
- Vladimir Putin called the fuel crisis 'temporary' at a televised Wednesday meeting, with vice-premier Alexander Novak confirming 'oil products' imports began July 8; some regions have lifted sales restrictions while cities including Astrakhan, Lipetsk, Voronezh, and Ulyanovsk still report queues of 50 to more than 100 cars.
- Per-person petrol sales restrictions have been introduced across multiple Russian regions this month, with residents queuing for hours or days to secure fuel in some areas.
Why it matters: Russia — normally a top-three global oil producer — is importing petrol after Ukrainian drones knocked out roughly 40% of its refining capacity. The Indian refinery shipping fuel back to Moscow is 49% owned by Rosneft and runs almost entirely on Russian crude. For 50 million Russians, the immediate result is fuel rationing and hours-long queues at petrol stations.
