Easing of US sanctions did not help Russia increase oil shipments - intelligence
Kyiv • UNN
Due to infrastructure limitations and disruptions at ports, oil exports from Russia fell to 3.46 million b/d in March. A collapse was recorded at the ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga.
The partial easing of US sanctions did not help Russia increase oil shipments, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reported on Thursday, UNN writes.
In March 2026, Russia failed to increase oil shipments through its own seaports, despite a temporary easing of sanctions by the United States. The decisive factor was "infrastructure limitations and force majeure circumstances" at key export hubs.
According to S&P Global Platts data cited by intelligence, oil transshipment in Russian ports in March decreased to 3.46 million barrels per day compared to 3.49 million b/d in the previous month. A similar trend was observed in the petroleum products segment – the figure decreased to 2.19 million b/d from 2.21 million b/d in February.
"The key factor in the decline was 'disruptions in port infrastructure,'" the Foreign Intelligence Service noted.
In particular, as indicated, at the port of "Primorsk" at the end of the month, shipments sharply fell from more than 1.1 million b/d to 732 thousand b/d. "Ust-Luga" also experienced a significant reduction: oil export volumes decreased to 105 thousand b/d in the period March 25-31 compared to 471 thousand b/d a week earlier. "Shipments of petroleum products in this port virtually ceased at the end of the month," the foreign intelligence service reported.