Russia announces gasoline export ban as Ukrainian strikes hammer oil infrastructure
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Russia will ban gasoline exports from April 1 in order to meet domestic demand, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced on March 27.
The ban comes as the war in Iran has triggered a spike in global fuel prices, while increasing Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries have limited the country's ability to process and export oil.
Novak ordered the Russian Energy Ministry to prepare legislation that prohibits Russian gasoline exports beginning April 1, the Kremlin said in a statement. The minister cited the disruptions to global energy markets as the impetus for the ban.
The "turbulence in the global market for crude oil and oil products, driven by the Middle East crisis, has led to significant price volatility," Novak said, while noting that demand for Russian products is high.
The export ban will remain in place through the end of July, the Russian state news outlet TASS reported.
Though the war in Iran has led to increased fuel profits for Moscow — including a temporary suspension of some U.S. sanctions on Russian oil transit — Ukraine's continued assault on energy facilities in Russia has carved a significant wedge in the country's export capacity.
Amid Ukrainian drone strikes, tanker seizures, and damage to key pipelines, about 40% of Russia's oil export capacity has been halted — a historic low.
Attacks in the past month alone have impacted production at two major Russian oil refineries: the Saratov oil refinery, one of the country's oldest, and the Kirishi refinery, which produces more than 6% of Russia's total refined oil.
Russia has previously imposed restrictions to gasoline sales, including temporary export bans, to combat domestic fuel shortages. In fall of 2025, multiple Russian regions reported gasoline shortages exacerbated by Ukraine's attacks on oil facilities.
Novak conceded in September that Russia faced a "small deficit" of petroleum products and would have to ban exports until the end of the year.
Fuel shortages were particularly severe in occupied Crimea, where roughly half of gas stations halted gasoline sales due to disrupted supplies, the pro-Kremlin news outlet Kommersant reported on Sept. 24.
