India imported crude oil worth about 144 billion euros from Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, a European think tank said on Tuesday, estimating the Kremlin's cumulative earnings from global oil sales since February 2022 at around 1 trillion euros.
India has been the second-largest buyer of Russian oil behind China, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). China bought Euro 210.3 billion worth of Russian oil since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, and another Euro 42.7 billion worth of coal and Euro 40.6 billion worth of gas. China's total buy from the beginning of the war until January 3, 2026, was Euro 293.7 billion.
India, on the other hand, bought Euro 162.5 billion worth of fossil fuels, including Euro 143.88 billion worth of oil and Euro 18.18 billion worth of coal from Russia, CREA said. The European Union spent Euro 218.1 billion on buying Russian fossil fuels, including Euro 106.3 billion in oil, Euro 3.5 billion on coal and Euro 108.2 billion on gas.
The European Union's imports of Russian fossil fuels have steadily declined since the December 2022 embargo on Russian crude oil and the February 2023 embargo on Russian refined products. Some countries were provided derogations to import Russian crude via the Druzhba pipeline. As of September 2025, only two EU countries - Hungary and Slovakia - have continued to import Russian oil. Russian gas remains unsanctioned.
India, the world's third-largest oil importer, emerged as the biggest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Traditionally reliant on Middle Eastern oil, India dramatically increased Russian imports as sanctions and reduced European demand made the barrels available at steep discounts, pushing its share from under 1 per cent to nearly 40 per cent of total crude imports.
Russia supplied about 35 per cent of all crude oil that India imported, ahead of fresh sanctions the US imposed on two of Russia's leading oil exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil, coming into effect from November 22, 2025. Russia's share in Indian oil purchases has since dropped to less than 25 per cent and may dip further this month, as the primary buyer, Reliance Industries, shunned Russian oil.
India's daily purchases of Russian oil from non-sanctioned entities were around Euro 72.92 million at the beginning of January, down from 130.49 million euros in end November and peak of 189.07 million euros in July 2023, according to CREA. Following the new US sanctions, companies such as Reliance, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd have halted imports of Russian oil for now.
However, other refiners, such as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), continue to buy from non-sanctioned Russian entities. Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy, which the EU has already sanctioned, continues to purchase oil from Rosneft and other Russian sellers.
Also read: No Russian crude import this month: Reliance Industries
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