Russia bans gasoline exports for 6 months from March

Russia has declared a six-month prohibition on gasoline exports starting March 1, citing increased demand from consumers and farmers, as well as the need for planned refinery maintenance.

The ban, initially reported by RBC and later confirmed by a spokeswoman for Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, is a measure previously implemented between September and November of the preceding year to address domestic price spikes and shortages.

Exempt from the ban are member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and two Russian-backed breakaway regions of Georgia — South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Only Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan were exempt from the previous ban.