Russia Imports Its First Gasoline Cargo From India as Ukrainian Drone Strikes Cripple Refineries

Russia has spent decades exporting oil and refined fuel to the world. On August 5, it took delivery of gasoline from India for the first time on record, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler cited by Bloomberg.

The cargo, roughly 42,000 metric tons, was produced at Nayara Energy's Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, India. Nayara is partly owned by Rosneft, Russia's state oil giant, which makes the arrangement a case of Russian-linked capital refining fuel abroad and shipping it home because Russia can no longer refine enough of its own.

The cargo's route explains why this took so long to arrive. The tanker Cyclone, previously named Agni, loaded the gasoline at Vadinar on June 18. It sailed to Damietta, Egypt, where the fuel was transferred ship-to-ship onto the Oman-flagged tanker Garnet on July 6, before finally reaching Russia in early August, according to Bloomberg vessel-tracking data reported by Outlook Business. Both Garnet and a second vessel involved in similar transfers, Talisman, are under U.S. sanctions. Most of the tankers in the chain are also sanctioned by the European Union.

More cargoes appear to be following the same path. Outlook Business reported that the tanker Varg loaded nearly 40,000 tons at Vadinar on July 6 and is believed to have transferred its cargo at Damietta later that month, while another vessel, Photon, left Vadinar on July 13 and transferred its load to the Russian-flagged Talisman in late July. Kpler said the pattern suggests Damietta is becoming a regular transfer hub for Indian gasoline headed into Russian import channels.

"The emergence of Indian barrels is particularly notable," said Sumit Ritolia, Kpler's lead analyst, in comments carried by both Outlook Business and the Deccan Chronicle. He said the shipments, combined with continued imports from Belarus, underscore "the severity of the current domestic gasoline imbalance" inside Russia.

Why Russia needs it

The scale of the damage to Russian refining is significant. EA Analytics estimates Russian crude-processing rates fell to about 3.6 million barrels per day in July, roughly a third below seasonal norms, a figure cited across OilPrice.com, the Kyiv Independent, and the Deccan Chronicle. Swarajya Mag, citing its own reporting, put Russian refinery output at its lowest level in more than 21 years and said roughly 40% of Russian refining capacity is unlikely to come back online for at least two months.

Ukraine's drone campaign against Russian refineries has not slowed down. Outlook Business and the Deccan Chronicle both reported that five Russian oil-processing facilities were hit last week, with at least two more struck this week. The Kyiv Independent described this as part of Kyiv's stated "40-day campaign" aimed at "weakening key elements of the Russian military machine," a goal Ukrainian officials have stated openly rather than concealed.

The domestic fallout inside Russia has been visible for weeks. Swarajya Mag reported drivers queuing for fuel, stations imposing sales limits, and gasoline unavailable to ordinary motorists on certain days in occupied Crimea. The Moscow Times reported that Russia's average gasoline price has climbed 17.7% since the start of the year, though it dipped 1.4% over the past week to 77.69 rubles per liter, about $3.61 per gallon, as of August 3.

Moscow's response has been to restrict its own exports rather than let the shortage run its course. Meduza and the Moscow Times both noted Russia banned gasoline, diesel, and aviation kerosene exports through the end of 2026, and is now permitting producers to sell fuel that doesn't meet normal environmental standards, an acknowledgment of how tight domestic supply has become. Industry sources told Reuters, as cited by Meduza, that Russia is aiming to import as much as 400,000 tons of gasoline per month from India, Belarus, and Kazakhstan combined.

The India angle

Russian crude exports to India hit a record 2.7 million barrels per day in June, according to figures reported by Meduza, Outlook Business, and Swarajya Mag, accounting for more than half of India's total oil imports. India has built a lucrative business buying discounted Russian crude, refining it, and selling the products globally, including now back to Russia itself.

That arrangement puts India in an odd spot geopolitically. Nayara Energy has already been sanctioned by the European Union, and Western governments have spent months pressuring India to cut back on Russian crude purchases. None of the sourcing here indicates the Indian government directed or endorsed these gasoline shipments. They appear to be commercial transactions by a Rosneft-linked private refiner. No U.S. or EU sanctions body has announced new penalties specifically tied to these gasoline cargoes as of this reporting.

Buying gasoline on the open market to keep pumps running through peak summer travel and harvest season is an ordinary supply-chain fix. Russian officials have said the domestic fuel market has partially stabilized, per the Moscow Times. But the more it needs to import motor fuel by the tanker-load through sanctioned shadow-fleet vessels and multi-port transshipment schemes, the harder that stabilization claim is to square with a refining sector still running a third below normal.

Whether Ukraine's strikes can keep pace with Russian repair efforts, and whether Western regulators move against the Damietta transfer network, are the open questions heading into the fall driving season.