Ukraine to curb Indian diesel imports amid Russian oil ties, analyst says

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine will restrict imports of diesel fuel originating in India, which purchases a significant portion of its crude oil from Russia, starting October 1, Ukrainian energy consultancy Enkorr said on Monday.

Another consultancy, A-95, said earlier this month that the loss of a key Ukrainian oil refinery this summer had forced traders to compensate with imports, purchasing diesel fuel from India. Even the Ukrainian defence ministry has bought some Indian fuel as it met post-Soviet standards.

Russia has been attacking Ukrainian oil refineries and fuel storage facilities with drones and missiles.

Enkorr says that Ukrainian security bodies have ordered that all consignments of imported Indian diesel fuel must undergo laboratory analysis to check for the presence of Russian components.

Enkorr said Ukraine imported 119,000 tons of Indian diesel fuel in August, or 18% of the overall diesel imports. 

Prior to the full-scale war with Russia that began in 2022, Ukraine imported diesel fuel mainly from Belarus and Russia to compensate for the lack of domestic production.

Since 2022, it has imported mainly from European countries to the west.

A-95 said that in the first half of the year, imports of diesel fuel fell by 13% year-on-year to 2.74 million metric tons.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Sharon Singleton)