Ukraine’s Drone Campaign Forces Russia to Lean on Record Belarus Fuel Supplies

Supplies of gasoline and diesel from Belarus to Russia reached a new monthly record in July, driven by fuel shortages stemming from unplanned outages at Russian refineries battered by months of Ukrainian drone strikes.

Reuters reported the figures on August 5, citing two industry sources and its own calculations.

Gasoline shipments by rail from Belarus rose 13% from June to 212,000 metric tons, while diesel deliveries doubled to 162,000 tons, according to the source-based data. Jet fuel deliveries fell to about 13,100 tons in July, down from 16,000 tons in June.

Over the first seven months of the year, rail gasoline shipments from Belarus surged 25-fold against the same period in 2025 to nearly 665,000 tons, Reuters calculated, while diesel deliveries increased almost sevenfold to 418,000 tons.

Belarus supplies the fuel from its two refineries, which process Russian oil and hold a combined capacity of 24 million tons per year, or 480,000 barrels per day.

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Russia Boosts Belarus Gasoline Imports 20-Fold to Mitigate Severe Domestic Fuel Crisis

Jul 09, 2026 15:53

Russian gasoline output fell early in July to roughly 65% of the seasonal average, while diesel production dropped to about domestic demand levels, according to industry data and Reuters calculations.

In response to rising wholesale and retail prices, the Russian government banned diesel exports, granting exemptions only for previously concluded contracts and shipments under intergovernmental agreements. Similar restrictions on gasoline and jet fuel were already in force.

The industry sources also indicated that Russia had begun importing gasoline from India, Kazakhstan, and Morocco to cover the shortfall.

The refinery outages behind the shortages stem from a sustained Ukrainian campaign that has forced several of Russia's largest fuel producers to shut down. Repeated drone strikes suspended operations at the NORSI and Omsk plants, the country's two largest gasoline producers, as well as the major Saratov refinery, widening the domestic supply gap.

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