Russia, Sep 13 : Russia imported a record 172,000 tonnes of oil products in August, with India accounting for around 70 per cent of the total, as Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted the country’s domestic refining operations, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
The surge marked more than seven times Russia’s previous monthly record and exceeded the total volume imported throughout 2025. Gasoline made up the largest share, with 120,000 tonnes worth an estimated 78 million euros arriving from India during the month.
CREA said the Indian gasoline was processed at the Vadinar refinery in Gujarat and subsequently sold by EU-sanctioned Nayara Energy to Russia’s Rosneft. Russian energy giant Rosneft owns a 49.13 per cent stake in Nayara Energy.
The refinery has remained heavily dependent on Russian crude. According to the report, all crude processed at Vadinar during the first eight months of 2026 came from Russia, compared with 81 per cent of its crude supplies during the whole of 2025.
The development highlights an unusual supply chain in which Russian crude is transported to India, refined into petroleum products and then shipped back to Russia to meet domestic fuel requirements.
CREA attributed the growing dependence on imports to a sustained Ukrainian drone campaign targeting Russian refineries and energy infrastructure. The attacks have affected refining operations and contributed to fuel shortages in several parts of the country.
The research group said each gasoline cargo sent from Vadinar to Russia was transferred between vessels through ship-to-ship operations off the coast of Egypt before reaching Russia’s Arctic port of Beloe More. The vessels involved were sanctioned tankers, while four of the six ships had previously operated under false flags, according to the report.
Gasoline represented 74 per cent of Russia’s total oil-product imports in August, a sharp increase from an average share of just 6 per cent between 2023 and 2025.
Other countries also supplied petroleum products to Russia. South Korea exported about 18,000 tonnes, largely gasoil, while Egypt supplied approximately 25,000 tonnes of diesel valued at around 16 million euros.
At the same time, Russia’s own seaborne oil-product exports declined sharply. Export volumes fell 21 per cent in August, while revenues from products delivered to destination ports dropped 32 per cent from July to about 78 million euros a day, the lowest level recorded since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Oil-product shipments from Russian ports have declined for three consecutive months and were less than half their August 2025 level, CREA said.
The impact was particularly visible at Tuapse, which had been Russia’s fourth-largest oil-product export port before the full-scale invasion. The port did not record any oil-product loading for the third consecutive month following repeated Ukrainian drone attacks since May.
Crude exports through Novorossiysk were also disrupted. Loadings at the Black Sea port fell 58 per cent month-on-month in August, while operations were halted for nine consecutive days — the longest reported interruption at the facility since the beginning of the full-scale war.
Overall, Russia’s fossil-fuel export revenues declined 8 per cent in August to about 604 million euros per day, while export volumes fell 7 per cent.
Despite lower crude purchases, India remained Russia’s second-largest fossil-fuel customer during the month, behind China. India imported Russian hydrocarbons worth around 4.8 billion euros, with crude oil accounting for approximately 4.1 billion euros, or 87 per cent of its total purchases.
Indian imports of Russian crude declined 24 per cent from July after reaching record levels during the previous two months. Shipments to the Jamnagar refinery fell 15 per cent, while deliveries to Vadinar increased 5 per cent and those to Paradip rose 1 per cent.
China remained Russia’s largest fossil fuel buyer, generating around 8.4 billion euros, or 51 per cent, of the revenues received from its five biggest customers. Chinese seaborne imports of Russian crude increased 16 per cent from July and stood 62 per cent above August 2025 levels.
Russia continued to benefit from higher international energy prices despite the fall in export volumes. The average price of its Urals crude increased 23 per cent in August to USD 69.90 per barrel, significantly above the G7 and European Union price cap of USD 44.10, according to CREA.
The research group also estimated that higher oil and gas prices following US-Israel strikes on Iran generated an additional 31 billion euros in Russian seaborne fossil-fuel export revenues over the six months following the attacks.