New Delhi. India has been on the target of America and European countries for a long time for purchasing crude oil from Russia. Despite all the pressure from these countries, India is importing oil in large quantities from Russia. Even in October 2025, India spent 2.5 billion euros on buying crude oil from Russia. In September 2025 also, India had purchased oil worth the same amount from Russia. This information has been given in a report by the European think tank, Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). CREA data has once again proved that India continues to be dependent on Russia to meet its energy needs.
India ranks second after China among the countries purchasing oil from Russia. Since the war started in February 2022, Russia has been giving huge discounts on oil to keep its economy afloat. Countries like India, which have a large population, large economy and rapidly increasing energy needs, have directly benefited from this. This cheap supply from Russia is no less than a relief for India.
222 million euros spent on buying coal
India’s total fossil fuel imports from Russia in October stood at 3.1 billion euros. Of this, the largest share was of crude oil, which is 81% of the total import i.e. 2.5 billion euros. Apart from this, India also purchased coal worth 351 million euros and oil products worth 222 million euros from Russia. These figures show that Russia’s share in India’s energy basket has now become very strong.
America imposed sanctions on two Russian companies
On October 22, America imposed strict sanctions on Russia’s two major oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil. The purpose of these sanctions is to limit Russia’s ability to sell crude oil so that Russia’s funding for the war is affected. The effect of these restrictions has also started to be seen. In India, companies like Reliance Industries, HPCL-Mittal Energy and MRPL have currently stopped the import of Russian oil.7
Russia sold 60 million barrels of oil in October
In October, Russia exported a total of 60 million barrels of crude oil. Of this, Rosneft and Lukoil’s share alone was 45 million barrels. A large part of the cheap oil that India gets comes from these companies. CREA report says that India’s Russian crude oil imports increased by 11% month-on-month in October. The special thing was that government oil companies almost doubled their Russian oil imports.
The Gujarat-based Vadinar refinery, now owned by Rosneft, ran at 90% capacity in October despite new sanctions from the EU and Britain. Since the imposition of EU sanctions in July, this refinery has been completely sourcing crude oil from Russia. In October, this refinery’s oil purchases from Russia increased by 32% to the highest level since the start of the war.
However, the exports of Vadinar Refinery have seen a huge decline. Its exports have decreased by 47% in October compared to last year. This is the lowest level after May 2023. The reason for this is that EU and UK have almost stopped their imports of products made from Russian oil.
Japan increased imports
While EU and UK have reduced imports, Japan increased imports of products made from Russian oil by 140% in October. America has also increased its imports by 17%. These two countries have not yet declared a ban on Russian crude oil products, so they are still importing from Indian and Turkish refineries.
