September 1, 2026: There is a strange irony to the situation. Russia, known to be one of the world’s biggest oil exports and a country among the top 10 with highest crude reserves, is being forced to import petrol. What’s even more interesting is that the gap is being filled by India, among the biggest importers of oil in the world!

Russia’s seaborne gasoline imports climbed to a record level of around 125,000 barrels per day (kbd) in August, which would amount to about 470,000 tonnes for the month.

Reports suggest that Indian refiners supplied as much as 1 million barrels of gasoline to Russia over the past two months.

India has become an important source of gasoline, or petrol, for Russia as Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries have disrupted domestic fuel production and pushed Russian fuel imports sharply higher, according to ship-tracking data.

Energy analytics firm Vortexa said repeated attacks on Russian refineries had disrupted domestic output and contributed to the surge in imports.

Russia, despite being one of the world’s largest crude exporters, has been forced to import gasoline after Ukrainian drone attacks on its energy infrastructure caused domestic production to fall by as much as 70%. The resulting shortage has pushed Moscow to bring in petroleum products even as restrictions on fuel sales remain in place across the country

(Source: TOI)