Central Asia is increasing its purchases of Russian fuel — Reuters

Central Asian countries, along with Afghanistan, have significantly increased their imports of fuel by rail from Russia and Belarus. Supply volumes have risen by more than 50% amid a decline in shipments from the Middle East.

This was reported by Reuters.

Central Asia consists of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Mongolia and Afghanistan are sometimes added to this list.

Supplies to the region in January–March 2026 rose to 3.35 million tons.

Since the European Union imposed an embargo on Russian petroleum products in February 2023, Central Asia has become the main export market for Russian fuel.

On April 2, Russia banned the export of gasoline from the country. At the same time, some Central Asian countries with which Russia has intergovernmental agreements on fuel supplies are exempt from these restrictions.

Mongolia is the largest importer of Russian fuel in the region. Supplies to Mongolia in the first quarter of 2026 increased by 29% compared to the same period last year—to 840,000 tons.

Afghanistan, which is controlled by Taliban terrorists, is not exempt from Russia’s ban on gasoline exports, but Belarus continues to export its products there.

Overall, the country’s purchases in the first quarter increased fourfold compared to the same period in 2025—to 530,000 tons, of which 231,000 tons were gasoline.

Russian terminalsin the Baltic region have not been accepting fuel for two weeks now — Reuters.

In Russia, the Baltika brewery has sharply cut back on beer production.

Baltika has literally frozen Russian oil exports – Bloomberg.

As a reminder, on February 9, the United States intercepted the tanker Aquila II in the Indian Ocean for violating sanctions.

The Russian government forecasts a decline in revenue from oil and gas sales over the next three years. This will occur due to falling energy prices and a more lenient tax regime for Gazprom.