Russia has started buying gasoline from India — two tankers carrying 30,000–40,000 metric tons each have already been dispatched, Reuters reported, citing industry sources. Russian authorities plan to import about 400,000 metric tons of fuel monthly from various countries, one of the agency's interlocutors said.
Previously, Belarus was Russia's main fuel supplier. In the first half of June, Belarus nearly tripled its rail deliveries of gasoline compared with the first half of May, to more than 70,000 metric tons. According to Reuters, the price of Belarusian gasoline for Russia has risen 1.8 times since the start of May.
The Kremlin attributes the shortage to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries. President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that the strikes had caused fuel shortages in some regions but said authorities were managing the situation. Russia's summer gasoline consumption is at least 110,000 metric tons per day, according to Reuters calculations.
Amid the fuel crisis, the State Duma approved amendments to the Tax Code providing subsidies for gasoline imports, with the subsidy amount tied to the cost of supplies from India.
India itself has sharply increased its purchases of Russian oil. In June, according to preliminary data from Kpler and LSEG, Indian refineries received about 2.7 million barrels per day from Russia — more than half of the country's total oil imports. In May, the share of Russian oil was 36.5%.