Russia’s Fuel Crisis: Why India Is Now Supplying Gasoline To Moscow

India has become a major source of gasoline for Russia, sending close to 1 million barrels in the last two months as repeated Ukrainian drone strikes damaged Russian refineries and deepened fuel shortages at home. Ship-tracking data and energy analytics firm Vortexa point to the shift, reports said.

Russia’s seaborne gasoline imports hit a record around 125,000 barrels per day in August, equal to an estimated 470,000 tonnes for the month, according to Vortexa, as Moneycontrol reported. Indian refiners were among the suppliers helping Russia cover the gap, alongside Turkey and Morocco.

The trade matters because Russia turned to overseas markets after refinery disruptions cut domestic fuel output sharply. The import surge also shows how India’s refining system, fed increasingly by Russian crude, is now sending gasoline back into the Russian market.

Vadinar Supply Route

Much of the Indian supply came from Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, trade sources reported to Moneycontrol. Nayara is partly owned by Russian oil major Rosneft.

The flow ties into India’s bigger crude buying pattern. Since 2022, India has sharply raised purchases of Russian crude. Imports of Russian oil climbed to more than 2.6 million barrels a day in June and July, versus around 1 million bpd in February, and they made up more than half of India’s total crude imports.

That means some gasoline sent from India to Russia may have been made from Russian crude, the report said.

Drone Strikes And Shortages

Russia is one of the world’s largest crude oil exporters. Even so, it now has to bring in gasoline after drone attacks damaged energy infrastructure and interrupted refinery work.

Production of domestic fuel fell by as much as 70 per cent, the report said. Vortexa said 32 attacks were carried out on Russian refineries during July and August, averaging roughly one every two days.

Moscow tightened export curbs as the shortage deepened. It kept its gasoline-export ban in place for both producers and non-producers until the end of January 2027. Its diesel-export restrictions were also pushed out to September 1, 2026.

Sanctions And Transfers

About 55 per cent, or nearly 260,000 tonnes, of Russia’s imported gasoline in August arrived on sanctioned vessels, Vortexa reported.

“All India-origin gasoline cargoes Russia imported in August were carried on sanctioned fleets and involved dark ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in the Mediterranean,” Vortexa said.

Ship-to-ship transfers were a large part of the flow. Around 40 per cent of Russia’s total gasoline imports in August moved through such operations. Most involved vessels that switched off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals, according to Vortexa.

Diesel and gasoil exports stayed under pressure because of export restrictions, refinery damage and disruptions at fuel terminals. Through August 25, seaborne diesel and gasoil exports stood near 150,000 bpd — roughly flat with July but about 610,000 bpd below the same period last year, Vortexa said.

Vortexa said Russia was likely to continue importing some gasoline in the near term as it works to address the shortfall caused by refinery disruptions.