To cope with fuel problems, Russia started buying gasoline from Asian countries

Illustrative image. Photo: magnific.com

According to one of Reuters' interlocutors, gasoline is to be delivered to one of Russia's western ports by sea from one of the Asian countries. The specific supplier country has not yet been named. Earlier, after attacks on refineries in 2025, Russian authorities had already considered the possibility of purchasing fuel from China, Singapore, and South Korea.

At the same time, Russia significantly increased its fuel purchases from Belarus. According to Reuters, in the first five months of the year, gasoline supplies from two Belarusian oil refineries increased 13-fold, reaching 270,000 tons. Diesel fuel supplies during the same period increased approximately threefold, to 179,000 tons.

It is also reported that Russian representatives approached Kazakhstan with requests for additional fuel supplies. However, according to agency sources, neither Belarus nor Kazakhstan possesses sufficient capacity to fully compensate for the needs of the Russian market.

Analytical company Energy Intelligence estimates that by early June, oil refining volumes in Russia had fallen to their lowest level in two decades — less than four million barrels per day. According to these estimates, after numerous drone attacks, about 30 percent of the country's oil refining capacity was temporarily out of operation, which corresponds to approximately 2.1 million barrels per day.

Among the enterprises reported to have sustained damage are the large 'TANECO' complex in Nizhnekamsk and the Moscow Oil Refinery, which supplied a significant portion of the capital region's fuel needs. A number of other plants were also partially or completely taken out of operation.

Against the backdrop of these problems, restrictions on gasoline sales began to be recorded in various regions of Russia. According to calculations by The Bell publication, the fuel shortage has, to varying degrees, affected dozens of regions of the country. In some places, limits are in effect on the volume of fuel that can be purchased in a single refueling.

To stabilize the situation, Russian authorities decided to temporarily relax gasoline quality requirements. In particular, sulfur content standards were changed, and the use of some additional components that can increase fuel production was allowed. Critics of these measures point out possible environmental and health risks, but authorities view them as a temporary anti-crisis measure.

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