Russia turns to India amid gasoline shortage as Ukraine targets energy sites: Report

AS the state of war betwixt russian federation and ukrayina continues to intensify, Moscow is reportedly facing a fuel shortage. With repeated attacks by Ukrainian drones on Russian energy facilities, Moscow finds itself in the midst of a crisis.According to Reuters, Russia has now turned to India for gasoline as part of its efforts to mitigate a fuel shortage caused by Ukrainian attacks, two industry officials told the news agency.Fuel shortages are being felt across Russia's 11 time zones, resulting in rationing and long queues at gas stations amid a record increase in the price of gasoline.Furthermore, the shortage has also been acknowledged by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an address, Putin stated that “problems persist for both motorists and businesses,” and “there are still queues at petrol stations, and finding the right grade of petrol isn’t always easy.”The Russian shortage was also acknowledged by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said in a statement on Telegram that: “Putin can go on and on, claiming on TV that he supposedly has everything under control." He added that Russians can see that the war “has reached the point where even an oil state -- a gas station, as Russia used to be called -- is now facing gas shortages.”Russia turns to India for gasoline, claims reportCiting industry officials familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that India has dispatched 60,000 metric tons of gasoline to Russia.People familiar with the matter further told the news agency that two tankers, with parcels of 30,000 to 40,000 tons each, have been sent.While the Kremlin has stated that it will be reaching out to allies for the imported fuel, sources further told Reuters that Moscow plans to import a total of 400,000 tons of gasoline from various countries each month, including Belarus, which has already been exporting fuel to Russia.Also Read | US lifts sanctions on four Indian companies linked to Russia-related measuresAn official statement or comment from the Russian energy ministry and India's ​oil ministry is awaited.A look at India, Russia's oil tradeIndia and Russia have a long history of oil, crude and petroleum trade. This trade, however, came under the scanner after US President Donald Trump announced an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for its purchase of Russian oil, accusing New Delhi of "fueling Putin's war in Ukraine."However, amid the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz due to the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran, India was "allowed" to resume its trade with Russia for oil.As per LSEG and Kpler, India's crude oil imports from Russia surged to a record ​high in ⁠June, up from 36.5% ​recorded in May 2026.