Indian shipment arrives as Ukrainian strike campaign forces reversal of petroleum flow; Kyiv under missile attack. What we know on day 1,639
Russia has begun importing fuel, its government has confirmed, as a shipload of gasoline arrived from India. A fuel exporter in peacetime, Russia has been forced to turn to imports after Ukrainian strikes on its refineries and depots in response to the Russian invasion. The campaign by Kyiv’s military has been a major success, causing fuel shortages across Russia and in illegally occupied Crimea. At least one cargo of gasoline from India has just entered Russia’s domestic market, three industry sources told Reuters and shipping data showed. Russia is also arranging rail imports of gasoline from Belarus and Kazakhstan, and has placed a ban on fuel exports. Reuters reported last week that Russia had also begun shipping in diesel from Asia.
An Oman-flagged tanker loaded about 68,000 tonnes of gasoline at the Port Said anchorage in a ship-to-ship transfer from the tanker Agni, which had been loaded at India’s Vadinar port, sources told Reuters. The tanker unloaded at Russia’s Arctic port of Vitino in early August, shipping data showed. India has been one of the keenest customers of Russian oil held at low prices by war sanctions.
