Russia extended its diesel export ban for a month on Wednesday. The cabinet said, "The decision has been taken to support stability on the domestic fuel market." This move follows Ukrainian strikes on refineries, which caused a severe fuel crisis. Russia now faces pressure as global energy prices continue to rise.
Russia extended its ban on diesel exports for a month, worsening a global supply crunch that has prompted the US to call for an energy ceasefire in Moscow's war with Ukraine.
The decision to continue halts on sales of the fuel until the end of October, announced on Wednesday, means Russia is unlikely to lift its restrictions before the US midterm elections early the following month.
Russia's cabinet banned diesel exports in July after Ukrainian strikes on its refineries prompted the country's worst fuel crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union, causing people to queue for hours to secure fuel in some areas. Russia was forced to import fuel from India -- one of the biggest buyers of its crude -- to ease the shortfall.
"The decision has been taken to support stability on the domestic fuel market, including during conditions of heightened demand for motor fuel during harvesting season," the Cabinet said.
The ban from Russia, previously the world's second-largest exporter of diesel, has strained global energy markets already reeling from the US war with Iran and has become a liability for US President Donald Trump.
Russia has shipped about 4.6mn barrels of diesel so far this year, 40 per cent less than in the same period last year, according to data compiled by Kpler.
The White House is considering its own restrictions on US diesel exports to soften the blow of soaring diesel prices to farmers and industry, which is threatening to damage the Republican party's chances in November's midterm elections.
Diesel futures were trading at almost $1,500 a ton in London on Wednesday, almost double the price before the US launched strikes on Iran in February.
In recent weeks, Trump has pressed Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy to suspend the strikes against Russia's refineries, which he has said are "hurting the world" by restricting diesel exports.
Ukraine's armed forces claimed last week that their long-range strikes, mostly carried out with domestically produced drones, have taken out more than 45 per cent of Russia's refining capacity. Most Russian regions have begun rationing fuel sales, creating long lines at petrol stations across the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged the impact of the strikes but shown little interest in a proposed ceasefire with Ukraine under which both sides would agree to stop attacking each other's energy infrastructure. Though Trump announced a deal to halt the strikes earlier this month, neither Ukraine nor Russia appeared to have actually agreed to it, and the strikes have since continued.
The Russian military has stepped up its own strikes against Ukraine's power plants, refineries, petrol stations, warehouses and data centres in recent weeks.