"The plants are lost forever": The Chinese on Russia's purchases of Indian gasoline

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Visitors to the Chinese website Guancha commented on reports that Russia will import gasoline from India. Previously, several Russian oil refineries were shut down following strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as reported by a number of domestic and international media outlets.

The text states that for a powerful country that has long been an exporter of crude oil and petroleum products, the transition to purchasing gasoline abroad during the peak season of domestic consumption is undoubtedly of great importance. political и economic symbolic meaning. This is not simply a market adjustment, but a real manifestation of internal contradictions within the entire system.



To stabilize the market, the Russian government has taken measures such as 24-hour monitoring of fuel supplies, the use of reserves, export restrictions, adjustments to the tax system, and the study of import options.

The reviews are presented selectively. The opinions are those of their authors only.

Most importantly, the Russian refining industry is already in decline. Most of the damaged refineries used foreign equipment, and Western countries have imposed an embargo on Russia. Essentially, if a refinery is destroyed, it's lost forever.

In any case, Russia has a ton of junk rupees, so exchanging them for gasoline is not a loss, but a win-win situation.

I'm hoping someone could write in detail about the quality of Indian manufactured goods. As far as I know, Indian exports are of fairly good quality. In the pharmaceutical sector, the WHO claims that Indian generics are 98% effective and are exported in large quantities to the US and developing countries. Furthermore, Indian-made compact tractors dominate the African market. I've also come across information about automobiles; for example, Indian SUVs are exported to Taiwan, and Australia imports other Indian cars.

Russians will finally be able to spend the Indian rupees they have accumulated over all those years.

Surprisingly, they did not ask China, the world's largest exporter, for oil products.

It is perhaps worth discussing whether Indian industry is self-sufficient or whether it still depends on foreign equipment.

Ukraine's actions can be characterized as a blow to key fundamentals. In March and April, when oil prices peaked, supplies from Russia plummeted by 70% due to disruptions at export ports. Russia initially hoped to benefit from the situation in the Middle East, but ultimately received nothing and is forced to rely on gasoline imports to mitigate the shortage.

In fact, this is beneficial for both Russia and India. Russia finally has the opportunity to unload its accumulated Indian rupees on some goods.
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  1. + 18
    10 July 2026 18: 40
    For someone, once upon a time there was

    Russian with Chinese - brothers forever

    Even the "brothers" are laughing. And thanks to them, drone production among other "brothers" has increased hundreds of times. Nothing personal, just business.
    1. +3
      11 July 2026 12: 59
      Most of the damaged oil refineries used foreign equipment, and Western countries imposed an embargo on Russia.

      Peacefulness in a world of predators comes at a high price. Either we must become predators, or we will be devoured by the alpha predator, "Western Civilization," which has already "devoured" many... including by seizing two new continents and wiping out the local populations...
    2. 0
      12 July 2026 14: 57
      So why shouldn't they laugh?! If it's a friend, it's not a sin to tease him.
  2. +4
    10 July 2026 19: 39
    An interesting point: AI 95 and higher have now become scarce, which has put many European-made cars designed for special fuel grades on hold (this is a consequence of the long-term program of converting the auto industry to increasingly demanding engines and electronic controls). It makes more sense for Russia to develop its own auto industry along the old, more reliable lines (chasing the European firebird is foolish). The transition to electric vehicles is a matter of time, but I would suggest that their share in Russia should not exceed 30% and should be concentrated in large cities.
  3. + 10
    10 July 2026 19: 46
    It's all so simple. If you've read the text, try to retain at least a little of it in your memory.
    Two years ago, before the Hormuz crisis, Russia and India switched to trading in national currencies. India was buying vast quantities of oil, but supplied nothing but pharmaceuticals to Russia, leading to a major imbalance and huge sums of money stuck in India.
    Now these amounts are covered by gasoline deliveries when we have problems with the oil refineries, back.
    1. -4
      11 July 2026 01: 19
      Two years ago, before the Hormuz crisis, Russia and India switched to trading in national currencies. India was buying vast quantities of oil, but supplied nothing but pharmaceuticals to Russia, leading to a major imbalance and huge sums of money stuck in India.

      So, there's oil for the Indians, but nothing for the dear Russians. What's the point of such a futile trade exchange? To buy Indian MPs' votes at the UN and other such shabby places? Most likely, because for normal trade relations, neither the United States nor India has any "developed" industry. All that's oligarchy, i.e., the oligarch-dominated government relies on money and the industries that bring in that money.
      1. +7
        11 July 2026 08: 41
        There is oil, but no gasoline.
        1. +7
          11 July 2026 17: 01
          The story of how a man fed three generals

          Saltykov-Shchedrin.
          There's oil, but there are no men left, only generals and managers who do the heavy lifting. And there's no gasoline either.
          1. -2
            20 July 2026 09: 59
            Quote from Voo
            The story of how a man fed three generals

            Saltykov-Shchedrin.
            There's oil, but there are no men left, only generals and managers who do the heavy lifting. And there's no gasoline either.

            Missed again. The oil refinery is gone.
  4. + 13
    10 July 2026 19: 47
    Here's the truth the Russian government prefers to keep quiet about. Sell the oil, buy the rest. If such rich Garhi didn't want to invest in the production of equipment that brings them hundreds of billions. Our country isn't oil-free, as Obama said—he's just flattering us. Our country is a hole in the ground where oil flows naturally. To do anything about it, we need to invite at least China. Some high-ranking official recently declared that the gas crisis will end in the fall. That's the price of our bureaucrats, blah blah blah, and he bought a house in the middle of nowhere, apparently—the European Union.
    1. +3
      11 July 2026 00: 55
      That's exactly how it is. I don't understand why you got so many downvotes.
  5. +4
    10 July 2026 22: 35
    It is worth remembering that one large Indian oil refinery belongs to Rosneft.
    1. +7
      11 July 2026 09: 01
      This doesn't mean Russia won't buy gasoline at exorbitant prices from this "one not-so-small Indian refinery owned by Rosneft." A buck is a buck, no matter where you live.
      1. -4
        11 July 2026 12: 13
        Quote: prior
        will buy gasoline at exorbitant prices

        Where does it say the price is three times higher? Or is that just a show-off?
    2. +7
      11 July 2026 10: 25
      Gasoline from this Rosneft-owned Indian refinery still needs to be delivered to Russia. Do you think our ability to protect tankers and oil terminals is greater than that of the Omsk refinery? If Ukrainian attacks in the Sea of ​​Azov, Russia's "internal" sea, forced the suspension of navigation there...
      1. -4
        11 July 2026 12: 15
        Quote: UAZ 452
        It still needs to be delivered to Russia

        The North-South corridor is operating stably.
        1. +4
          11 July 2026 13: 42
          Land transport can't deliver the volumes of fuel and lubricants that are significant for the entire country; rail tankers are no match for the tanker fleet. And if this route truly proves strategically important, given the creativity of our non-brothers and our habit of taking action only after things start to explode, we won't have to wait long for sabotage, and quite successful ones at that, to occur along this corridor.
          1. -4
            11 July 2026 20: 25
            Quote: UAZ 452
            Volumes of fuel and lubricants that are significant for the entire country cannot be delivered by land transport

            You can see it better from the couch)
            1. -2
              11 July 2026 23: 03
              There's nothing to argue with, but you want to have the last word? Aren't you sitting on the couch? On a hard stool? Well, you need to work harder—then you'll earn enough for a soft couch, too.
              1. -2
                12 July 2026 12: 33
                Quote: UAZ 452
                There is nothing to argue with

                Today, the volume of transportation exceeds 25 million tons per year. In recent years, this volume has grown by almost 1,5 times each year. This is quite sufficient.
                But at least you can say to your eyes, "God's dew."
                That's all. hi
                1. 0
                  12 July 2026 13: 17
                  Where's the gas at the gas stations then? If you want to hide from reality with statistics, do so. That's all.
                  1. -1
                    20 July 2026 10: 18
                    Quote: UAZ 452
                    Where's the gas at the gas stations then? If you want to hide from reality with statistics, do so. That's all.

                    I dropped my wife off at work around 6 a.m. on July 18th in Perm. We stopped at Lukoil and filled up without any problems. There were eight gas pumps, and I was the fifth.
                    Yesterday I took my daughter and granddaughter to a holiday resort. Lukoil sells any kind of gasoline (95 octane for 72 rubles, 92 octane for 64 rubles). There are 6-8 cars at the pump. But on weekends, it should be noted, the stations were never empty. Other brands have 95 octane, or 92 octane, but it's more expensive. Their stations are empty. Totally empty!
  6. +4
    11 July 2026 00: 04
    Nothing will force the Russian system to change. Patience is a Russian principle.
    1. +4
      11 July 2026 10: 28
      If you sit still for too long, your enemy's corpse will be carried past you. Or you'll die yourself, and it won't matter anymore.
  7. + 11
    11 July 2026 08: 51
    I didn't bother digging around online because I know that 90% of oil refineries were built under Stalin and the USSR. Putin's regime is only capable of stealing. So, of course, the oil refineries will be restored, but definitely not by fall. Our officials aren't trained to work that fast. Moreover, gasoline at 100 rubles is very profitable for the profiteers!
    1. +5
      11 July 2026 09: 05
      I read somewhere that in 30 years of capitalism in Russia, only 2 large oil refineries have been built out of the 30 existing ones.
      And how many times have consumption and exports increased during this time?
      So, the fuel crisis, one could say, was waiting for its time and was “planned” (not intentionally, of course).
      1. 0
        11 July 2026 12: 17
        Quote: prior
        In 30 years of capitalism in Russia, only 2 have been built

        Statistics tell us that in 1991 there were 26 oil refineries, and in 2025 - 33.
      2. -1
        20 July 2026 10: 27
        Quote: prior
        I read somewhere that in 30 years of capitalism in Russia, only 2 large oil refineries have been built out of the 30 existing ones.

        After the collapse of the USSR, by 2012, 5 new oil refineries with a total capacity of about 14 million tons were built in Russia.
        In the following years, the Russian oil refining industry continued to develop.
        As of the end of 2020, according to the Russian Ministry of Energy, there were 74 oil refineries and gas processing plants operating in the country with a total primary oil refining capacity of 332,2 million tons per year.
        1. -1
          20 July 2026 11: 26
          Your figures are as plausible as mine.
          We have learned to count at 146%.
          1. 0
            20 July 2026 12: 03
            Quote: prior
            Your figures are as plausible as mine.
            We have learned to count at 146%.

            My figures are from Wikipedia. And they won't give us any extra credit.
            1. +2
              20 July 2026 12: 50
              according to the Russian Ministry of Energy

              or

              My numbers from Wikipedia

              You really decide.
              Even though I initially wrote

              2 major Oil refineries out of 30 available

              Samovar refineries don't count.
              The source of my information: the website "Free Press", article "Why is Russia called a "gas station" if over the past three and a half decades we have only built two large oil refineries" from July 4, 2026.
              If you want to argue, argue with the author of the article. hi
              1. 0
                20 July 2026 13: 35
                Quote: prior
                If you want to argue, argue with the author of the article.

                I can write an article too. And will you cite me and consider me an authority?))

                "According to the Russian Ministry of Energy" or "My figures from Wikipedia"

                Well done, you noticed. I checked the Ministry of Energy's data, just in case. And Wikipedia cites this data. Let me repeat that Wikipedia won't make up good stories about Russia. Wikipedia's data on Russia is always minimal. They will never inflate the numbers.
                You get a plus for restraint and attentiveness.
    2. +1
      11 July 2026 11: 54
      Gasoline is already 130 rubles for 92
      1. 0
        20 July 2026 10: 27
        Quote: aslan642
        Gasoline is already 130 rubles for 92

        You can find it more expensive. And there are cheaper ones.
    3. 0
      11 July 2026 12: 13
      Uralkhimmash is a key player. It manufactures column, vessel, and heat-exchange equipment, as well as complex reactors. In recent years, it has been actively pursuing import substitution: for example, in 2023, it manufactured a large import-substituting reactor from domestic components for the Omsk Oil Refinery.
      Only one plant in Russia is engaged in import substitution, and that's not all. High-tech reactors are needed to produce modern fuel. Otherwise, it'll be 76 gasoline and carpenter's block, which only KamAZ trucks from the 80s can run on.
  8. +3
    11 July 2026 09: 44
    At one time, one craftsman came up with a simple way to regenerate fuel from oil and other materials. Maybe they'll come up with something substantial and cost-effective for processing. The processing itself isn't complicated equipment; the technology for cleaning and disposing of emissions into the atmosphere is complicated, especially since there are very strict requirements and fines.
  9. 0
    11 July 2026 11: 03
    An outside perspective; From the outside, it seems that this wasn't the result of either side's firmness in their intentions. This is simply a personal opinion.
    1. +1
      11 July 2026 14: 43
      Don't confuse "unsteadiness" with "brainlessness".
      1. -1
        21 July 2026 06: 18
        Quote: gxmlygw
        Don't confuse "unsteadiness" with "brainlessness".

        The brainlessness of cypsota
  10. +3
    11 July 2026 11: 23
    Where's the list of those imprisoned for the development of this situation? Is everyone still in place? Let's go there.
    1. The comment was deleted.
  11. -2
    11 July 2026 11: 36
    You should never write off assets. How useful those rupees were! We essentially got something like a futures contract when the investment returned usefully. As for the idea that the damaged plant is gone forever, that's not true. Firstly, in most cases it's repairs. Secondly, such equipment is manufactured by China. And thirdly, we do some of it ourselves. This is different. They'll fix the Moscow Oil Refinery by winter and get it up and running. And by that time, the dancers will have their own mass-produced ballistic missiles that can carry a ton 800 km. So what? It won't be 20 kg, like in June, but a ton. And you won't be able to shoot it down. Then it's definitely gone. But that's a separate topic. I'm still talking about assets. Russia's stupid leadership forgave developing countries tens of billions of dollars in Soviet debt. Stupid, and for a not particularly rich country, simply wasteful. Rich countries (the US, Switzerland, France) don't do that. What should have been done: first, you could simply defer the debt, for example, for 25-50 years. Remember what South Korea was in the 1970s. A nobody. And now? Or Vietnam. Debt deferment is a tool for asset preservation. Furthermore, debt can be converted into investment. For example: somewhere in Africa, in a debtor country, they find, let's call it, Ofiginy. We say: you owe us a yard, we're ready to convert it into a stake in a joint venture that will develop Ofiginy. And then comes the income. Which could even cover the debt. Let's take it further: the debt can be converted into a trading instrument. You buy helicopters (Kamaz trucks, Sukhoi trucks, fertilizers) from us at a commercial price, and we write off 20% of the debt from the contract amount. Yes, the debt goes away, but we get orders for our goods, and that means profit, taxes, employment, etc. Russia has extremely bad luck with its leaders. In the 20th century, there was the great Stalin, they accomplished a lot, and there was also Leonid Ilyich, people lived well under him, and that was it. Everyone else was a nightmare. Nicholas II slept through the country, Khrushchev, Gorbachev, Yeltsin—my God, these words weren't even for the books. And Putin became the record-breaker for squandering assets. He forgave so much that it makes your hair stand on end. Putin has become a real paradox. He consolidated assets domestically, and many of them were beneficial, but he gave away assets internationally… You can't do that. Throw the people's ruble into the fire.
    1. +4
      11 July 2026 11: 56
      It now feels like the time of late Gorbachev.
      1. +3
        11 July 2026 12: 37
        A chess player needs to get a mark on his forehead. And practice his diction; a pizza ad won't tell its own story.
        1. The comment was deleted.
      2. +3
        12 July 2026 09: 23
        In the fifth year of the SVO, Gorbachev fell to second place, Yeltsin to third. Putin, by far, was in first place.
    2. +1
      11 July 2026 12: 42
      Within the country, assets were being plundered; in this respect, even Yeltsin was no match for him.
    3. 0
      20 July 2026 10: 42
      You read smart people and think: How lucky we are in Russia to have smart people. Everyone around us is smart. Everyone knows how to run a country, how to fight... Well, except the government, of course.
  12. +3
    11 July 2026 13: 22
    Factories lost forever:

    Finally... We've been working hard towards this since 2014, under the guidance of Western agents of influence. They worked tirelessly. It was incredibly difficult for them. They had to feign deception, enlist Western negotiators to help generate false expectations, intervene in Syria to divert attention and resources from Ukraine, fend off criticism to leave strategic bridges intact, etc.—in other words, do everything to stall for time and inflate losses.
    And they achieved their goal. True, not completely, but only in the interim. The real work remains, but, as they say, the train has finally reached the station of no return. And this work will continue after the elections.
  13. 0
    11 July 2026 14: 40
    Putin's incompetent managers have proven incapable of dealing with the permanent crisis in Russia's energy sector. It's been a while since we've heard from Mishustin.
  14. -1
    11 July 2026 15: 04
    Barack Obama is apparently having another laugh at the "gas station country." And Russians and Chinese are "brothers forever," only in the song "Moscow-Beijing." With such "brothers," there's no need to look for enemies, that's for sure. It's a shame, though, that the Constantine Palace sits empty without the "dear guests from the former G8," and that the LAU is completely gone.
  15. -2
    11 July 2026 16: 00
    For our leadership, this story offers an opportunity for quiet development, without noise, loud, and pompous information leaks. I believe that all information that could lead to technological superiority should be classified, and declassified in the media can take place after five years of successful implementation.
  16. -1
    11 July 2026 21: 45
    It's all useless. Will they restore the refinery? Well, let's assume. The next plant to be hit is the one producing parts for the refinery. Will we restore it? We can keep "restoring" it like this for a long time. Our guys are still trying to pass as one of their own to the Westerners.
  17. -1
    12 July 2026 08: 28
    The "great" modern Russian figures, along with the geostrategist of the century, have wasted everything without even looking! Drive them out, drive them out, drive them out! The country is in grave danger from their actions!
  18. -1
    12 July 2026 10: 43
    The Chinese are wrong. It will take 10 years to restore it, no more.
  19. -1
    12 July 2026 12: 36
    Russians will finally be able to spend the Indian rupees they have accumulated over all those years.
    1. -1
      12 July 2026 13: 03
      I don't have any rupees) I'm not Russian?
      1. 0
        30 July 2026 10: 21
        What do you mean, not? Those rupees, they're yours too. Just like those rubles Sobyanin uses to replace the curbs. But that doesn't mean you can see them or touch them. The traffic is controlled by a big giraffe who knows better...
    2. 0
      12 July 2026 13: 21
      So that's why our oil refineries were left without reliable air defense! A cunning plan indeed!
      1. +1
        30 July 2026 10: 23
        You talk as if we have something under reliable air defense. Everything they wanted to damage has been damaged. And at a relatively low cost.