Russia confirmed it will continue supplying oil to India despite Western sanctions

Russia is not pulling the plug on oil to India anytime soon. On Wednesday, a senior official at the Russian embassy in New Delhi confirmed that oil exports to India will continue as usual.

President Vladimir Putin also plans to visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi before the year ends. No exact date has been fixed yet, but the meeting is expected to happen this year.

Roman Babushkin, Russia’s chargé d’affaires in India, told reporters that Moscow has a “very, very special mechanism” in place to ensure continued delivery of crude oil to India.

“India’s crude oil imports from Russia will remain at the same level,” he said during a press briefing. Despite Western sanctions following the Ukraine war, Russia is not stepping back from this deal.

India buys more Russian oil after discounts widen

India’s biggest state-owned refiners—Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)—have resumed buying Russian oil for September and October delivery.

According to two company officials familiar with the purchases, this decision was made after Russia’s discounts widened again, making the barrels profitable.

In July, India paused purchases of Russian crude due to tighter price spreads and heavy political pressure. The U.S. government criticized New Delhi for continuing to buy oil from Moscow.

President Donald Trump has since slapped a second set of 25% tariff on Indian goods, scheduled to take effect on August 27. That political heat, combined with shrinking discounts, had pushed India to hit pause.

But with the price gap now back to about $3 per barrel for Russia’s Urals crude, refiners have jumped back in. China had filled the vacuum during India’s break.

In that period, Chinese buyers grabbed several Russian cargoes. But now that India is back in the market, China may have to share supply again. Analysts say Chinese refiners recently bought 15 shipments of Russian oil for October and November delivery.

Apart from the Urals blend, IOC has reportedly purchased other Russian crude grades like Varandey and Siberian Light. IOC, which is India’s largest refiner, told analysts earlier this week that it will “continue to buy Russian oil depending on economics.” Indian companies typically do not comment on oil sourcing publicly.

Russia faces pressure, India stays the course

Meanwhile, the U.S. will slap an extra 25% tariff on Indian exports starting August 28, citing India’s growing appetite for Russian oil. Washington says this move is aimed at discouraging energy trade with Moscow. Interestingly, the U.S. has not taken similar action against China, even though Beijing has been buying just as much, if not more, from Russia.

The European Union has also joined the pressure campaign. In July, the EU imposed sanctions on Nayara Energy, an Indian refinery backed by Russian firms. That move forced Nayara to cut back production, and many traders have since reduced business with the refiner.

Despite all this, Russia and India are pushing forward. Evgeniy Griva, the Deputy Trade Representative of Russia to India, said bilateral trade is still expected to grow by 10% annually. That means neither side is slowing down—oil will keep flowing, tariffs or not.

So far, no formal meeting date has been finalized for Putin and Modi, but the Kremlin has made it clear that the visit will happen before the end of the year. The trip would mark a high-profile attempt to reaffirm ties and lock in trade flows, even as Western sanctions try to close the taps.

Russia’s strategy is to use direct state deals and “special mechanisms” that bypass dollar-based systems to keep sales steady. India has found ways to keep paying, often settling in rupees, dirhams, or Chinese yuan, depending on the trade channel used.

That workaround has allowed both countries to quietly maintain crude flows while avoiding triggering U.S. secondary sanctions… at least for now.

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