Keeping fuel at home has become an expensive task for Moscow. Drone attacks have damaged Russian refineries and tightened domestic supplies, prompting the government to curb fuel exports.
Moscow banned most gasoline and diesel exports and increased fuel imports as it sought to maintain supplies for the domestic market. It then paid refiners more than 197 billion rubles in August, equivalent to more than $2 billion, and almost 916 billion rubles in fuel subsidies since the start of the year.
The support arrived as Russia’s oil income weakened sharply. Net budget proceeds from oil production fell to 326.2 billion rubles ($3.76 billion) in August, a six-month low. The figure was about 22% below a year earlier, the lowest since February, and more than 60% lower than the previous month. Russia calculated August budget revenues at just over $59 a barrel.
Oil prices had averaged almost $95 a barrel at their spring peak. Large payments to refiners further reduced August revenue as the government sought to secure domestic fuel supplies.
The pressure matters because oil and gas revenues account for about a fifth of Russia’s budget inflows. Russia’s energy industries supplied about 30% of federal budget revenue in 2024. Total oil and gas revenues fell 16% from a year earlier to 424 billion rubles in August.
The federal budget deficit has reached 2.8% of gross domestic product, above the official target of 1.6% for the year. Federal budget funding for the war and other military spending reached about 16 trillion roubles in 2025, or 7.5% of GDP. Military spending in the first quarter of 2026 alone came to roughly 2.5% of expected full-year GDP. One estimate said a sustained first-quarter pace would make spending of 9 to 10% of GDP realistic for 2026.
On 3 September 2026, President Vladimir Putin said the budget deficit had grown by 40% from January to July, though he said it was manageable and posed no “critical” risk to the Russian economy.
Russia suspended its fiscal rule in 2022, ending a requirement that excess oil revenues be saved in the National Wealth Fund. A modified rule has operated since 2023, requiring oil revenues above $59 a barrel to be saved and reserves to be used below that price. The Finance Ministry suspended operations under that rule again in March 2026 while reviewing the threshold.
The condition for easing fuel restrictions remains domestic supply. Deputy Prime Minister Novak said “a lot of work is being done to strengthen the protection of oil refineries”, though “the more important task is the restoration of plants and equipment”.
Novak said Russia could reopen diesel exports if it had overproduction. He said gasoline exports would resume and fuel imports would end once the domestic market was balanced.
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