Russians Will Be Back In Line For Gas
- 3.11.2026, 10:05
Ukraine has launched a new campaign of strikes against oil refineries.
Resumption of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries have jeopardized the recovery of Russia’s fuel market. This is reported by Bloomberg, noting that this is the most severe gasoline shortage in Russia in decades.
Since Friday, strikes have targeted the largest refineries in Ufa, the Volga region, and the Samara region. The extent of the damage is still unclear, but journalists say the attacks “highlighted the fragility of the recovery of Russia’s oil refining sector” and, in any case, forced refineries to suspend or reduce processing volumes. According to consulting firms, even before this series of strikes, average refining rates remained significantly below seasonal norms.
“This makes the Russian domestic fuel market vulnerable, even though the long lines at gas stations—the most visible signs of the summer gasoline crisis—have now disappeared,” the article states.
According to the authors, the crisis was partially resolved thanks to fuel imports and a partial restoration of production capacity. At the same time, gasoline prices remained, on average, 20% higher than at the beginning of the year.
How Russia Tried to Save the Market with Imports
To emerge from the crisis, Russia had to increase imports, restrict fuel exports, and pay refineries billions of dollars in subsidies to restore supplies.
The analytics firm Kpler reports that in October, Russia received approximately 89,000 barrels of gasoline per day by sea, which is roughly nine times higher than the July level. “From July through October, the volume of gasoline imports by sea totaled 7.79 million barrels, with Turkey, Morocco, and India serving as the main suppliers,” analysts calculated.
In addition, Russia expanded its imports by land, bringing in fuel from Belarus, and banned most exports of diesel fuel and gasoline. Only as part of the “diesel deal” with U.S. President Donald Trump were the restrictions slightly eased.