India Becomes Russia's Largest Fuel Importer Amid Ukrainian Drone Strikes

Record Fuel Imports: India Takes Center Stage

In August, Russia's fuel imports reached a record high, with India emerging as the largest source of supply. The country imported 172,000 tonnes of oil products, more than seven times its previous monthly record. This surge in imports came after Ukrainian drone strikes hit Moscow's refineries and disrupted domestic fuel production, leading to shortages.

The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) reported that India accounted for a staggering 70% of Russia's total fuel imports during the month. With 120,000 tonnes of gasoline worth €78 million being loaded at the Vadinar refinery. The gasoline was then sold to Rosneft. Which owns 49.13% of Nayara Energy, a company that sourced all its crude from Russia during the first eight months of 2026.

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"This is a clear example of Russia paying a refinery it partly owns to process its own crude into fuel it can no longer produce domestically, before shipping it back halfway around the world," CREA said. The shipments were transferred between vessels in a ship-to-ship operation off Egypt before being unloaded at Russia's Arctic port of Beloe More.

Global Energy Market Shifts

The surge in fuel imports was not limited to India. With South Korea supplying another 18,000 tonnes of oil products to Russia in August, mostly gasoil. Egypt also exported 25,000 tonnes of diesel worth €16 million during the month. However, gasoline accounted for a significant majority of Russia's total oil-product imports, making up 74% of the country's total imports.

The rise in global energy prices, driven Despite this decline, Russia continued to benefit from higher energy prices, with the average price of its Urals crude rising 23% in August to $69.90 a barrel.

Global Energy Market Trends Continue

India remained Russia's second-largest fossil-fuel customer in August, behind China, which accounted for 8.4 billion euros of Russian hydrocarbons during the month. Crude oil accounted for 87% of these purchases, with imports at the Jamnagar refinery falling 15%, while those at Vadinar rose 5%.

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The rise in global energy prices also led to a surge in seaborne crude imports into China. Which rose 16% month-on-month and were 62% above August 2025 levels.

Overall, Russia's fossil-fuel export revenues declined 7% in August, while export volumes fell 21%. However, the country continued to benefit from higher global energy prices, with the average price of its Urals crude rising 23% in August to $69.90 a barrel.