Russia has begun importing gasoline by sea from India as it seeks to ease fuel shortages caused by Ukrainian attacks on its energy infrastructure, two industry sources told news agency Reuters on Wednesday.
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The shortages have spread across Russia's 11 time zones, leading to fuel rationing, long queues at filling stations and a record rise in gasoline prices.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it was in discussions with several countries about importing fuel at acceptable prices.
One industry source said India has already shipped at least 60,000 metric tonnes of gasoline to Russia. Another source said two cargoes, each carrying between 30,000 and 40,000 tonnes, have been dispatched.
A third source said Russia plans to import a total of 400,000 tonnes of gasoline every month from multiple countries, including neighbouring Belarus, which is already supplying fuel to Russia.
Russia's summer gasoline consumption is at least 110,000 tonnes a day, when demand for fuel typically peaks.
It remains unclear which Indian refiner is supplying the gasoline.
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged on Sunday during a meeting with government ministers and other officials that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries had caused fuel shortages in some regions. He, however, said the situation was being addressed.
Belarus sharply increased its gasoline exports to Russia by rail, with supplies exceeding 70,000 tonnes during the first half of June, nearly three times the volume recorded in the first half of May, according to Reuters calculations and industry sources.
Last week, Russia's parliament approved amendments to the country's tax code to help tackle fuel shortages caused by the Ukrainian drone strikes. The measures also provide subsidies for fuel imports based on Indian delivery costs and prices.
Meanwhile, India's imports of Russian crude oil climbed to a record high in June, according to ship tracking data from LSEG and Kpler. Indian refiners increased purchases of Russian crude to reduce the impact of the Strait of Hormuz closure on supplies from other sources.
Kpler data showed Russian crude accounted for more than half of India's total oil imports in June, compared with 36.5 per cent in May.
Preliminary data from Kpler and LSEG showed India, the world's third-largest oil importer, received around 2.70 million barrels of Russian oil per day in June.
