Running out of chips in Russia? Now they are considering allowing a fuel that was banned years ago

Russia is considering allowing the sale and import of lower-quality gasoline and diesel than before. The fuel shortage in Russia has clearly worsened due to drone strikes by Ukraine.

The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on the matter, which was quoted by the news agency Reuters and the independent Russian media Meduza.

Due to the fuel shortage, the sale of Euro 2 quality fuel, which allows a higher sulfur content, would be opening in Russia. The sale of Euro 2 fuels has been prohibited in Russia since 2013.

Now the Russian administration is planning a break of about a year in the sales and import ban.

Fuel quality standards have been relaxed in Russia before. In the fall of 2025, the Russian government allowed some refineries to produce Euro 3 quality gasoline and diesel for the needs of the domestic market.

May be an insufficient solution

The difference between Euro 2 fuels and newer classifications is, among other things, the ease of processing. Interviewed by Kommersant Dmitri Prokofiev says that Euro 2 quality fuel can be made from industrial gasoline without major refining. Prokofiev is a Russian consulting company Neft Researchin director of communications.

By lowering the quality standards, simpler refineries could be kept running, which could add thousands of tons of fuel to the Russian fuel market, Prokofiev estimates.

However, lowering the fuel quality standard is not necessarily enough to compensate for the lost fuel production capacity. Low-quality fuel can also be harmful to many new vehicles, Prokofiev adds.

In addition, Euro 2 fuels contain, among other things, more sulfur than more modern fuels.

The effects of the attacks in Ukraine are visible

Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s fuel production have recently begun to be seen even far from Ukraine’s front line. Attacks have been made, for example, on oil refineries in Moscow and oil ports in the Gulf of Finland.

At the weekend, even the president of Russia Vladimir Putin tended to admit a fuel shortage.

“We will certainly survive the challenges we face, such as terrorist attacks on our territory and infrastructure,” Putin said on Sunday, according to the Russian Moscow Times newspaper.

The fact that Putin had to address the issue can be interpreted as a defeat for Putin. Member of Parliament of the Coalition, Doctor of Military Sciences Jarno Limnell wrote about Putin’s speeches New Finland in his blog as follows:

“When Vladimir Putin has to say out loud that Russia is going through a ‘difficult period,’ it shouldn’t be dismissed as ordinary Kremlin talk. An authoritarian leader doesn’t admit to difficulties by accident or easily.”

Attacks on oil refining are an embarrassing problem for Russia. As a result of the attacks, Russia cannot provide its citizens with fuel in the same amount as before, and the fuel shortage brings the war in Ukraine closer to the Russian civilian population.

The breakdown of the oil refining capacity also causes financial headaches for Russia, which is at war in Ukraine for the fifth year. The country’s exports rely largely on fossil fuels, it turns out Harvard Growth Labin from the data.

Professor at the Alexander Institute of the University of Helsinki Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen assessed Kauppalehti earlierthat Russia’s national identity has been built on oil and gas production. When oil and gas, considered the cornerstones of Russian well-being, are attacked, the general mood can also be diluted.