Russia oil trade: India imported €144 billion worth of crude since start of Ukraine war; second-largest buyer after China

India has imported around 144 billion euros’ worth of crude oil from Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, making it the second-largest buyer after China, according to estimates by European think tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).According to news agency PTI, CREA said Russia has earned nearly 1 trillion euros from global fossil fuel sales since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. “As of January 2026, Russia has earned 1 trillion euros and counting from global fossil fuel sales since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” the think tank said, adding that these revenues continue to fund the war in Ukraine.China topped the list, buying fossil fuels worth 293.7 billion euros from Russia since February 2022, including 210.3 billion euros of oil, along with coal and gas. India followed as the second-largest buyer, importing fossil fuels worth 162.5 billion euros, including 143.88 billion euros of oil and 18.18 billion euros of coal, CREA said.The European Union spent 218.1 billion euros on Russian fossil fuels during the same period, including oil, coal and gas, despite sanctions imposed after the invasion. CREA noted that Russian oil has continued to flow into the EU, mainly to Hungary and Slovakia, and that products refined from Russian crude are still entering sanctioning countries.India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, sharply raised purchases of discounted Russian crude after Western nations cut back imports. Russia’s share in India’s crude basket rose from under 1 per cent before the war to nearly 40 per cent at its peak, PTI reported.However, Russia’s share has since fallen to below 25 per cent amid fresh US sanctions on major Russian oil exporters. India’s daily purchases of Russian oil from non-sanctioned entities dropped to around 72.92 million euros in early January from a peak of 189.07 million euros in July 2023, according to CREA.Reliance Industries, previously India’s biggest buyer of Russian crude, has said it does not expect to receive any Russian oil shipments in January, which could push India’s imports to a multi-year low amid tighter Western sanctions and trade-related pressures.