Russia has stopped exporting refined fuel, officially to deal with fuel shortages in Russia.
Russian officials hope the export ban will last only through May, but after that Russia will increase to costs of exporting their fuel. In any event, this move by Russia should add to the increasing fuel prices the world is paying.
I can’t help wonder if Russian leaders are taking advantage of a domestic situation to make things worse for the West, in retaliation for what the West is doing in Libya, and what the West is trying to do in Syria.