The ruling already published on the legal information portal confirms that restrictions can be applied to vehicles registered in states that have issued restrictive measures against citizens of the Russian Federation and against Russian legal entities in the sphere of international road freight transport. If such a ban is enacted, the government would need to specify the time frame, compile a list of the relevant states, delineate which types of traffic are affected, and set the conditions under which certain exemptions would remain valid.
In practice, this represents a mirror measure: at the start of April, European Union member states halted the passage of vehicles from Russia and Belarus through their territory. The exceptions covered critical goods such as medical supplies, food and agricultural products, energy carriers, non-ferrous metals, and fertilisers. Yet in that period, about 3.1 thousand Russian trucking firms, operating a combined fleet of roughly 45 thousand road trains and employing more than 70 thousand people, were compelled to halt their activities on the European market.
From the Russian perspective, a ban could have been introduced as early as April, but representatives from major Russian companies urged postponement, arguing that such a move would disrupt the flow of essential goods from Europe into Russia, including machinery, belts, spare parts, and other materials, according to a report by RBC citing its sources. By June, the Association of International Road Carriers (ASMAP) pushed for a ban, emphasizing the broader strategic and economic effects involved.
ASMAP’s position rests on the contention that competition in European markets has diminished, leading to noticeably higher transport tariffs for shipments from EU countries. At the same time, domestic carriers in Russia and its allied nations have limited capacity to adapt swiftly to new operating conditions. This combination, the association argues, translates into financial losses for Russian and allied operators, losses that ASMAP quantified as surpassing 9 billion rubles on a single date. In response, ASMAP proposed a ban limiting European trucks from entering the Russian Federation and, within Russia, redirecting cargo through at-border reload points. This approach mirrors the system currently used at border crossings in Belarus.
- Freight forwarders appealed directly to the political leadership with demands to halt the mobilization of drivers, seeking to prevent supply chain disruptions during periods of strategic tension.
- Documentary coverage under the program called “Behind the Wheel” has been made available on RuTube, illustrating the broader human and logistical dimensions of these restrictions.