India plans to keep buying discounted Russian crude despite US and European sanctions, and during a recent summit in New Delhi, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of uninterrupted fuel supplies.
India, the second-largest consumer of Russian oil after China, faces strong US pressure to halt these purchases, a tension highlighted when the Trump administration doubled tariffs on Indian goods earlier this year. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian crude made up only about 2.5 percent of India’s total oil imports, according to US Energy Information Administration data.
After the war began, Western sanctions against Moscow escalated dramatically, with more than 21,000 measures targeting individuals, industries, and key economic sectors. A major turning point came in December 2022, when the G7, the EU, and Australia imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel—later lowered to about $48—aimed at limiting Russia’s war financing.
These restrictions made Russian oil cheaper and therefore more appealing to major buyers such as India and China. As a result, Russia began offering crude at steep discounts, at times dropping to about $35 per barrel in March 2022. In comparison, Brent crude is currently trading at roughly $62.50 per barrel, reinforcing India’s incentive to continue its purchases.
Putin visited India earlier in December
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