New Delhi’s oil hypocrisy How India is fuelling the war in Ukraine

Due to its duplicitous policies, India is now facing serious geopolitical turbulence stemming from disagreements with the United States over New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.

As is known, President Donald Trump has threatened to punish India if its refineries continue to buy discounted Russian oil that has come under Western sanctions.

"What he [Trump] said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia," the White House stated recently. As a result, on August 1, the United States imposed 25% tariffs on Indian goods, and Trump threatened New Delhi with further penalties.

"India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA," Trump wrote on his social media platform.

Thus, the U.S. grievances against India regarding its purchases of Russian oil are perfectly clear. Upon taking office, President Trump publicly promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours. And although that goal proved too ambitious for Washington at the time, the U.S. position on the matter has remained unchanged.

In April this year, during a conversation with the White House press pool aboard Air Force One, the Oval Office occupant once again confirmed that he is working to bring an end to the fighting in Ukraine.

"The conflict in Ukraine is Biden’s war—it must be stopped to save many lives," he stressed, once again accusing his predecessor, Joe Biden, of instigating the conflict in Ukraine.

Following Trump’s return to the White House, Russia and the United States did in fact resume contact and held several rounds of negotiations, which included discussions on a possible settlement of the war in Ukraine. But the effort failed…

And in July, the U.S. President called on Moscow to resolve the conflict in Ukraine within 50 days, threatening otherwise to impose very tough tariffs on its trading partners. By the end of the same month, he announced that he was shortening the deadline of his ultimatum to just 10–12 days.

Around the same time, U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, John Kelley, referencing Trump’s deadline, stated that the conflict in Ukraine must end by August 8.

“Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal. President Trump has made clear this must be done by August 8,” he said during a UN Security Council meeting.

In Moscow, in response to Washington’s harsh ultimatum, officials declared that such a demand amounted to a step toward war with the United States.

Let us now return to India’s stance on purchasing Russian oil. In this context, the hypocritical policy of official New Delhi, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, stands out. As early as October 2022, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, at a press conference following his meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, stated that the war between Russia and Ukraine “serves no one’s interests.”

“We have been very clearly against the conflict in Ukraine. We believe that this conflict does not serve the interests of anybody. Neither the participants nor indeed of the international community,” the Indian minister assured his global audience.

Prime Minister Modi expressed similar sentiments during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazan in October 2024, stating in particular that “We fully support the early restoration of peace and stability. All our efforts give priority to humanity. India is ready to provide all possible support in the times to come.”

However, as subsequent developments have shown, despite its bold declarations, the Modi cabinet continued purchasing Russian oil, thereby fuelling the Russia-Ukraine war.

It is worth recalling that India became the leading buyer of Russian oil as soon as Russia’s primary energy exports came under U.S. and European sanctions. In other words, from the very beginning, India played a role in financing the conflict in Ukraine—while continuing, from time to time, to issue token statements about its willingness to help resolve it, clearly aimed at currying favour with the international community.

Incidentally, India is pursuing a similar policy in the South Caucasus, supplying weapons to Yerevan and encouraging it toward a renewed conflict with Azerbaijan. Fully aware of Armenia’s expansionist policy, India has not hesitated to arm the aggressor state—yet another confirmation of New Delhi’s openly militaristic posture and its undisguised interest in fuelling a new war in the South Caucasus. It is no coincidence that back in April of this year, Reuters reported that India would offer its domestically produced weaponry to countries that had previously relied on Russian arms, citing Armenia as a key example. The report noted that India had even dispatched a defence attaché to Yerevan.

One more recent fact further highlighting New Delhi’s militarist agenda deserves attention. According to RBC-Ukraine, citing the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, India is not only financing Russia’s war against Ukraine through its oil purchases but is also aiding in the production of combat drones.

“Indian components are being found in Russian strike drones—drones that are being used on the front lines and against civilians, including the Shahed/Geran types,” Yermak wrote on Telegram.

Similar findings were reported by the Hindustan Times, citing an investigation by Ukrainian authorities. The report stated that Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones used by Russia were found to contain components from Vishay Intertechnology and Aura Semiconductor, assembled or manufactured in India. “A ‘bridge rectifier E300359’ of Vishay Intertechnology assembled in India was used in the Shahed’s voltage regulator unit, while a PLL-based signal generator AU5426A chip made by Aura Semiconductor was used in the jammer-proof antenna for the drone’s satellite navigation system, according to the documents,” the paper noted.

Thus, once again, New Delhi’s hypocritical foreign policy is laid bare—driven by naked mercantilism and radical nationalist interests that run counter to peaceful approaches, whether in the South Caucasus or in the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war.