Federal Law No. 127-FZ
Russia's 2018 law on counter-measures to unfriendly actions by the US and others.
Vladimir Putin's Decree No. 686 of 28 September 2026 rests on Article 4.2 of this law to restrict public data on Russia's refinery output, fuel export prices, buyers and tanker movements.
Last refreshed: 12 October 2026
Timeline for Federal Law No. 127-FZ
Mentioned in: Putin decree curbs Russian refinery data
Russia-Ukraine War 2026Background
Federal Law No. 127-FZ, signed on 4 June 2018, is titled "On measures of influence (counteraction) on unfriendly actions of the United States of America and other foreign states". Moscow cites it as the legal basis for its counter-measures to Western sanctions.
Decrees issued under it have grown in reach. Decree No. 520 of August 2022 put Western exits from Russian companies under presidential permission. Decree No. 686 of 28 September 2026 invoked Article 4.2 to restrict data on refinery output, export prices, buyers, carriers, insurers and tanker loadings.
The law turns sanctions policy into secrecy policy. Moscow presents the data restrictions as protective, arguing that published lists of buyers, carriers and insurers would hand Western enforcers a target list. The effect is that outside claims about Russian fuel output, including Kyiv's damage figures, can no longer be checked against Russian data.