Trump’s Russia Oil Crackdown: Has India Finally Hit Pause on Russian Crude?

New Delhi: Oil seems to be the buzzword in 2026, with Donald Trump not shying away from expressing America’s desire to have maximum control over the non-renewable and scarce resource. Be it the military action in Venezuela to “capture” and arrest Nicolas Maduro or be it approving the bill that would allow the Trump regime to slap tariffs up to 500% on countries purchasing oil from Russia, US geopolitics seems to be firmly centered around oil. Trump has already slapped a tariff of up to 50% on Indian goods; that includes a 25% tariff on Indian products for purchasing crude from Russia. Trump claimed it was funding Putin’s war in Ukraine. India affirmed its sovereignty and reiterated that the country would decide based on what is good for its 140 crore people. However, things seem to have drastically shifted since then.

India was the second-largest buyer of Russian oil, with purchases amounting to $168 billion since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, as per the data shared by Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). China, obviously, leads the race.

However, imports, lately, have declined drastically, especially with India’s Reliance hitting a pause on Russian oil in 2026. According to data from commodities tracking firm Kpler, India’s imports of Russian crude fell by about 595,000 barrels per day month-on-month in December, dropping to around 1.24 million barrels per day, the lowest level since December 2022.

However, reports suggest that India’s state-owned refiners are still buying Russian oil. The overall decline has mainly been due to reduced purchases by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, which had been one of the biggest buyers before US sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft came into effect in late November.

So, in short, India has not stopped buying Russian oil, but imports have gone down drastically. India has repeatedly said its Russian oil purchases are driven by energy security and the need to keep fuel prices stable, not by geopolitics. How long this balancing act can continue, and how global pressure reshapes India’s energy choices, remains an open question.