NEW DELHI: Crude imports from Russia remained at the top of India’s oil basket despite US warning New Delhi against purchases from Moscow and the Trump administration later levying an additional 25% penal tariff.
Indian oil purchases from Moscow picked up in 2023, soon after the Ukraine war broke out and Russian crude became available at deep discounts. Data showed even as US officials in 2023 and 2024 repeatedly raised concerns that India’s purchases of discounted Russian crude were weakening Western sanctions aim-ed at cutting Moscow’s war revenues, New Delhi imported 1.5 to 2.1 million barrels a day.
US President Donald Tru-mp announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods in July 2025, increasing pressure on exporters, and imposed an additional 25% duty linked to Russian oil purchases a week later.
Department of commerce data showed Russian oil imports in Aug, Sept, Oct and Nov remained in the range of 6.5 to 7.7 million tonnes, or nearly 1.6 to 1.8 million barrels a day.
The impact of US sanctions on Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil, which came into effect on Nov 21, 2025, however, reflected in Indian purchases in Dec and Jan, when the share of Russian crude was 25% and 20%, at 5.8 million tonnes and 4.5 million tonnes, respectively.
While official numbers on crude imports for Feb are yet to be released, data shared by global analytics firm Kpler showed that India imported a little over 1 million barrels of crude from Russia every day, or nearly 4 million tonnes during the month.
In 2025, India purchased nearly 263 million tonnes of crude from different geographies, of which about 85 million tonnes, or 32.3%, came from Russia.
New Delhi has diversified its portfolio and added West Africa, the US and Latin America to its list of suppliers. With supplies from West Asia getting choked due to the conflict and restrictions on the movement of vessels through Strait of Hormuz, India is again looking towards Russia to maintain its energy security.
“Russia remains the largest supplier of crude oil to India, with imports continuing despite fluctuating volumes and geopolitical pressure. Going forward, we may see its share going down but it will remain among the top,” said an official.
Sources said India never stopped sourcing crude from Russia despite Trump linking the withdrawal of a 25% penalty tariff in the proposed trade deal framework to New Delhi’s purported pledge to halt such purchases.
The US recently announced a 30-day waiver to India to purchase Russian oil. Sources on Saturday said it merely “removed a point of friction” that was never in anyone’s interest to sustain. They added that India had never depended on permission from any country to buy Russian oil, and Moscow continues to be India’s largest crude supplier.
“We source crude from wherever supplies are available, competitively priced and deliverable — and we will continue to do so,” said an official.
