2 July 2026

Fuel shortages in Russia, caused by the loss of more than a quarter of its oil refining capacity as a result of Ukrainian strikes, have begun to impact Central Asian markets. Kyrgyzstan has asked neighboring countries for help with supplies, gasoline prices in Uzbekistan have jumped nearly 12% in a month, and Kazakhstan has begun tightening border controls to prevent speculators trying to profit from supplies to Russia from creating problems in its own market.

Kyrgyzstan receives over 90% of its gasoline from Russia, where restrictions on fuel sales are already in place in almost all regions. Kanatbek Eshatov, head of the Association of Oil Traders, reported in late June that the country had developed a shortage of AI-95 and AI-98 gasoline due to supply restrictions from Russia and a seasonal increase in demand. Following this, Bishkek appealed to Kazakhstan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan for assistance in ensuring stable supplies, according to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Energy. Authorities have begun regulating fuel prices.

Since April, Russia has imposed an embargo on gasoline exports, and a ban on diesel exports is also under discussion. Formally, the embargo does not apply to exports to countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, including Kyrgyzstan, or under intergovernmental agreements, as is the case with Uzbekistan. However, due to a shortage of its own fuel, Russia is finding it increasingly difficult to export it. On the contrary, it is now purchasing additional volumes from Belarus and India, and Kazakhstan has agreed to supply 50,000 tons of gasoline (enough for half a day’s consumption) as humanitarian aid.

According to Sergei Vakulenko, a former top manager at Gazprom Neft and now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Berlin Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, by June 20, about 28% of oil refining capacity in Russia was out of action.

“This is all connected to the sharply increased number of drones Ukraine is capable of launching. The problem [in the Russian fuel market] is no longer logistical difficulties or market imbalances, but a physical shortage of fuel,” Vakulenko told The Wall Street Journal.

As a result of the decline in supplies from Russia, the price of AI-92 fuel in Uzbekistan has risen by 11.8% on the commodity exchange since the beginning of June, Bloomberg reports , citing local publication Spot.uz. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan Airways was forced to cancel several flights to Russia due to a shortage of jet fuel (Moscow imposed a ban on its export on May 30).

Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest oil producer, has banned the export of certain petroleum products and light distillates by rail and imposed border restrictions, allowing vehicles to cross only once per day, Bloomberg reports. On June 20, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov instructed the government to take all necessary measures to prevent fuel shortages, including by tightening border controls.

Kazakhstan was also forced to cut production at the Karachaganak oil and gas field by more than a quarter at the end of June . Gas from the field is supplied to a gas processing plant in Orenburg, Russia, which suspended operations after the Ukrainian drone attack and is then returned to Kazakhstan.

Karachaganak accounts for approximately 10% of Kazakhstan’s oil production. Since oil and gas are produced simultaneously at the field, it was impossible to significantly reduce gas production without simultaneously reducing oil production.

https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/07/02/43-5-a199859