Russia's State Duma passed in its second and third readings a law that creates a mechanism for state subsidies for diesel importers. The law provides compensation for the difference between export prices and the cost of fuel on the domestic market — a so-called damper mechanism. A similar mechanism for imported gasoline was adopted earlier.
Special conditions were set for supplies from Belarus: the compensation coefficient was raised to 0.9. Payments will be made only during periods when Russia has a ban on diesel exports in effect.
Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said the tool would allow "attracting additional volumes of fuel from abroad" and make such deliveries economically beneficial for importers. The Energy Ministry also expects the damper to smooth out price spikes.
The adopted law also changes the rules for exchange trading of fuel. Vertically integrated companies — which extract oil and sell fuel at retail themselves — were allowed to count fuel purchased from refineries under direct contracts toward their mandatory exchange sales volume. In effect, this means their exchange sales quota may decrease.
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the law is needed for uninterrupted supply of fuels and lubricants. "Fuel must be at the front, and in the rear, and for the harvest campaign, and for emergency services," Volodin said.
The law was adopted amid an acute fuel crisis in Russia. Since the beginning of 2026, Ukrainian drones have attacked Russian oil refineries at least 194 times — 11 times more than in the same period of 2025, The Insider reported. By the end of May, the total capacity of refineries halted due to strikes exceeded 25% of Russia's total oil refining capacity. The government decided to fully ban diesel exports on July 8; gasoline exports have been banned since April.
In June, restrictions or interruptions in fuel sales were recorded in 88 of Russia's 89 regions, The Insider wrote.