After being sanctioned by the European Union (EU), India’s Vadinar oil refinery, Nayara Energy Ltd, was sanctioned by the British government on Wednesday as part of its punitive action against Russia for its war in Ukraine. Two of Russia’s largest oil companies – Lukeoil and Rosneft – own 49.13 per cent of Nayara.
Britain had announced sanctions against Russia on July 18, the day the EU imposed measures against the country, but its action then was focused on the Russian intelligence community. However, the latest sanctions – 90 in total – include an asset freeze, director disqualification, transport sanctions, sanctions on UK trust services, and four oil terminals in China as well as 44 tankers in Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’. The total Russian assets frozen are £28.7 billion.
The UK sanctions come just days after the country’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, visited India for to finalise new trade agreements. London and New Delhi also signed a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) on July 24, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the UK.
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UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, who is currently in Washington DC, said the UK government was “ramping up pressure on companies in third countries, including India and China”.
“We are sending a clear signal: Russian oil is off the market,” she said in a statement.
As per data from analytics company, Kpler, India’s state-owned refineries had cut imports of Russian crude by more than 45 per cent between June and September, 2025. Nayara, however, had reportedly increased its imports of Russian crude in 2025, with levels reaching 100 million barrels (worth over $5 billion) last year, the UK government said.
UK had sanctioned Russia’s third and fourth largest oil giants, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas in January, 2025.
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