(MOSCOW, RUSSIA) – Russia has begun importing petrol from India for the first time in its history as Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries continue to cripple domestic fuel production, according to Russian media reports.
The newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets reported that the destruction of fuel and transport infrastructure has forced Russia to turn to India for petrol supplies. Despite this, many Russian regions continue to experience shortages of motor fuel.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak acknowledged what he described as the “second stage of the tense situation on the fuel market.” He avoided using the word “crisis,” instead referring to a “tense situation,” and described the current phase as a “second stage” rather than a second wave.
“We expect that in the near future repairs will be completed at a number of oil refineries and the situation will improve significantly,” Novak said.
However, experts argue that protecting thousands of enterprises from Ukrainian drones and missiles is nearly impossible, as the enemy can send increasing numbers of attack weapons to target any facility.
Fuel shortages are visible across Moscow, where queues at petrol stations grow longer each day. Motorists spend hours waiting to fill their vehicles. The shortages extend beyond the capital to many other parts of Russia.
Russian media report that petrol station staff are complaining of increasing aggression from customers, including fights and other incidents. In St Petersburg, an argument at a petrol station ended in a stabbing. Similar incidents were reported in Volgograd and Rybinsk.
To ease the fuel shortage, Russia has begun selling lower grade petrol of emissions classes Euro-4, Euro-3 and Euro-2, known in Russia as K4, K3 and K2. Since 2016, nothing lower than Euro-5 had been permitted for sale. The measure will remain in place until 1st July 2027.
The government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta warned that lower grade petrol can damage car exhaust components and cause negative consequences for engines due to higher risks of corrosion and carbon deposits.
Meanwhile, Russia is setting records for oil shipments to India, with July exports increasing by nearly 86 percent compared to the previous year. The contrast between exporting crude oil and importing refined petrol highlights the damage inflicted on Russia’s refining capacity.
The Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has not been convinced to change course. “There are no critical consequences from such attacks. There have not been and there cannot be,” he said, although he conceded the attacks are causing damage.
Some officials are calling for escalation. Sergey Glazyev, a former Kremlin economic adviser and current state secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, wrote that Russia should “use weapons to neutralise the enemy’s advantage in information technology and communication systems,” including cutting communication channels on the ground and at the bottom of the seas, disrupting data centres and destroying enemy reconnaissance aircraft. He also suggested disabling communication satellites, including Starlink.
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