How Ukraine's Drone Campaign Drove Russia to Authorize Euro-3 Gasoline and a Wave of Emergency Fuel Measures

Russia is in the grip of its worst fuel crisis in decades. A campaign of Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries, escalating sharply from August 2025 onward, has destroyed so much refining capacity that Moscow has been forced to take extraordinary measures: authorizing the sale of low-grade Euro-3 gasoline, imposing fuel rationing across more than half its regions, banning gasoline exports, and — in a stunning reversal for one of the world's largest oil producers — importing gasoline from India.

This fact-checked breakdown examines the root cause, the regulatory response, and each major emergency measure the Russian government has implemented through mid-2026.

Root Cause: Ukrainian Drone Strikes on Refinery Capacity

The fuel crisis is directly driven by sustained Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia's oil refining infrastructure. The campaign escalated sharply from August 2025 onward, with Ukraine hitting 8 of Russia's 10 largest refineries ^CE. The strikes have disabled critical processing units, including hydrocrackers at Moscow's Kapotnya refinery, which is offline until at least early 2027 ^C.

The cumulative effect has been severe: Russia lost roughly one-third of its total refining capacity, with nationwide gasoline production down about 25% ^CQT. Russian authorities acknowledged publicly for the first time in June 2026 that Ukraine's ramped-up air attacks on the oil sector were causing "temporary complications in supplies" ^MT.

The Euro-3 Authorization: Trading Fuel Quality for Quantity

On July 3, 2026, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree authorizing the sale of Euro-3-grade gasoline through the end of 2026 ^MTC. Key details:

• A similar scheme was introduced temporarily in autumn 2025 and has now been extended and formalized ^W.
• The decree allows certain refineries to sell gasoline with sulfur content up to 150 mg/kg — versus the Euro-5 standard of 10 mg/kg, a 15-fold increase ^ME.
• The fuel will not carry the Eurasian Economic Union's conformity mark, meaning it is explicitly lower-quality and cannot be sold in other EAEU member states ^M.
• A separate draft decree reportedly considered lowering standards as far as Euro-2 — a grade banned in Russia since 2013 — for one year through July 2027 ^M.

The reasoning is straightforward: by relaxing environmental specifications, refineries can maximize output from damaged or less sophisticated processing units without needing full hydrocracking or desulfurization capacity — precisely the equipment that drone strikes have knocked out ^ME.

Emergency Measures: Rationing, Export Bans, and Imports

Fuel Rationing

Fuel rationing has spread to more than half of Russia's regions — over 25 regions as of mid-June 2026 ^QR. Some petrol stations have imposed 20-liter per customer limits, with long queues forming ^R. Rationing has hit major cities including Moscow and St. Petersburg ^Q.

State of Emergency in Crimea

The fuel shortage began in Crimea, and the region has been placed under a state of emergency over fuel supply ^QE.

Export Bans

• Russia banned gasoline exports starting in September 2025, initially through end of 2025, then extended through 2026 ^N.
• In April–July 2026, a temporary ban on petrol exports was imposed to prioritize domestic supply ^F.
• The government has weighed expanding restrictions to diesel and kerosene exports as well ^W.
• Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin wrote to Putin proposing to also suspend exchange sales quotas for Euro-5 fuel until capacity is restored ^C.

Emergency Imports: A Reversal for a Major Oil Exporter

India: Russia has begun seaborne gasoline imports from India — a dramatic reversal for a country that built its power on oil exports. India shipped at least 60,000 metric tons initially, with two tankers of 30,000–40,000 tons each bound for Russia ^RMM. Russia plans to import around 400,000 tons per month ^R. India, which became Russia's largest crude oil buyer after the invasion of Ukraine, is now supplying its former customer with refined fuel ^RK.

Kazakhstan: Russia is in talks to import about 50,000 metric tons of AI-92 gasoline from Kazakhstan ^NC. However, Kazakhstan is a relatively small fuel producer, and sources said supplies are unlikely to be significant ^T.

Belarus: Imports from Belarus have also been part of the discussion as a regional supply source ^NM.

The draft decree would also permit imports of lower-grade fuel (below Euro-5) from these countries ^NM.

Key Claims: Verified

Claim	Status	Source
8 of 10 largest refineries hit	Confirmed by multiple outlets	CE
Rationing in more than half of regions	Confirmed (25+ regions)	QR
State of emergency in Crimea	Confirmed	Q
Euro-3 sale authorized through end of 2026	Confirmed — Mishustin signed July 3	MTC
Gasoline export bans in place	Confirmed — September 2025 extended	NF
Imports from India underway	Confirmed — Reuters, industry sources	RM
Imports from Kazakhstan in talks	Confirmed — 50,000 t of AI-92	NC

Bottom line: The Euro-3 authorization and all accompanying emergency measures are a direct response to Ukrainian drone strikes that have destroyed roughly a third of Russia's refining capacity, forcing Moscow to trade fuel quality for quantity, ban exports, ration gasoline across half the country, and — in an extraordinary reversal — import gasoline from India and Kazakhstan.