Putin Relaxes Rules for Fuel Subsidies to Refiners Amid Strikes

A petrochemical complex in Tatarstan, Russia.

Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Russian President Vladimir Putin relaxed the rules on fuel subsidies to the nation’s refiners, allowing them to continue receiving billions of rubles in aid amid intensified Ukrainian attacks on the industry.

Refineries will remain eligible for subsidies even if market wholesale prices for diesel and gasoline significantly exceed threshold prices, according to a presidential decree published on Sunday. The changes will stay in place from Oct. 1 until May 1.