Behind the huge Russian oil imports in India: the richest man in Asia Donald Trump News

The US -President Donald Trump’s additional tariff of 25 percent on India because of its imports from Russia, saying it helps fuel the war of Russia in Ukraine, has placed the southern state in South Asia at the highest level of countries known so far.

While New Delhi and Moscow are ancient strategic partners and have a relationship dating back to the era of the Cold War, Russia is the main supplier of Arustal Defense in India, Trump’s anger has mostly focused on the recent increase in oil imports in India from its old ally.

India was “the largest energy buyer in Russia, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop killing in Ukraine – all things are not good!” Trump to publish On the social truth platform on July 30.

On August 19, US Treasury Secretary Scott Pessant told CNBC that “some of the richest families in India” were the largest beneficiaries of these imports.

The largest importer in India of Russian crude oil was the Rellece Industries (RIL), led by the richest person in Asia, Mokish Ambani.

Russian crude includes only 3 percent of the total filter crude imports in Ril’s Jamnagar in 2021. Since the war in Ukraine, it increased by 50 percent on average in 2025, according to data from the Crea Research and Air Research Center (CREA) in Amsterdam.

In the first seven months of 2025, the Jamnagar refinery imported 18.3 million tons of crude oil from Russia, an increase of 64 percent year on year, at a value of $ 8.7 billion. Kraie said that Rale’s imports from Russia in the first seven months of 2025 are only 12 percent of the total imports in 2024. His methodology can be found. here.

“The shift is driven by a maximum price for Russian oil products that started on February 5, 2023.”

“The first purpose of the maximum price was to reduce Russian revenues, while ensuring the safety of the width worldwide,” said Raghunandan. “The maximum low prices is technically made to make this oil more attractive to countries such as India and China, but restricts Russian revenues.”

RIL did not answer a detailed list of questions from the island.

However, the recession of the price level – was at $ 60 for more than three years so far – and a lack of implementation has led to its effect, in the words of Raghunandan.

Instead, the shadow fleet – a fleet of hundreds of Russia’s ships to evade the police in its exports – helped to ensure that buyers are paid higher than the maximum prices. In January, nearly 83 percent of Russian crude was transferred through these ships, according to Crea data. In June, this fell to 59 percent.

Crea tracked Russian crude oil imports in the Jamnagar refinery and exports, from 2021 to the end of last month, for the island.

It found that the Jamnagar refinery exported $ 85.9 billion of refined products worldwide from February 2023 to last month. About 42 percent (36 billion dollars) of those exports went to countries that are punished for Russia.

A third of its total exports, at a value of 17 billion euros (19.7 billion dollars), was made to the European Union and 6.3 billion dollars of oil products to the United States, which is estimated at 2.3 billion dollars of Russian crude.

The United States is the fourth largest importer among individual countries, in terms of value, from this refinery since it entered the price coverage, which only topped the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Singapore. In size, the United States is the largest importer of the Jamnagar refinery, importing 8.4 million tons of oil products from the end of the price until the end of July 2025.

In 2025, the United States imported $ 1.4 billion of oil products from the refinery, an increase of 14 percent on an annual basis, which is the third country in the world.

American imports of Jamnagar are mainly consisting of mixing components (64 percent), gasoline (14 percent) and fuel oils (13 percent).

After Ril, Nayara Energy, owned by the majority of Russian companies, including Rosneft, was the state -owned oil and gas giant, a large importer of Russian crude. The Vadinar refinery, the second largest private refinery in India, after Jamnagar, got 66 percent of its crude imports this year from Russia.

In terms of actual folders, Russian imports in Nayara reaches a third of whats imports from Russia to the Jamagar refinery.

“Total scratch”

Analysts say it would be simplified to suggest that India bears the cost of additional definitions only in favor of one company.

“It seems to me that even if most of the profits go to accreditation, I found it appropriate to continue this trade with Russia, both because the cheapest oil imports helped in the current account deficit in India and also helped send a message from the non -alliance,” said Rachel Zimba, an assistant colleague in a new American security center.

India has historically sought to show strategic independence from the major powers, and officially rejected the consensus even during the Cold War with the United States or the Soviet Union.

Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Delhi World Trade Research Initiative, told the island that Trump’s tariff for the import of India from Russian oil was a “complete trick.”

“Everything from the set of customs tariffs is a cheek when they were not called the largest importer of Russian oil, which is China,” Srivastava said, adding that Trump was “afraid of the invitation of China … if tomorrow Trump and (Russian President Vladimir) does not exceed it in India, they do not exceed Trump in India. Requirements.

He said that the accreditation may have benefited from the decrease in crude prices for Russian oil, and the only reason that is subject to scrutiny is that it is a private company, which is a human nature to ask the wealthy.

From the outbreak of the maximum price until the end of last month, 38 percent of US imports came from mixing components, 4 percent of jet fuel imports and 2 percent of gasoline imports from the Jamnagar refinery.

Analysts predict some changes in the future. The European Union said a ban on imported oil imports that were treated with Russian crude, which is “a major change in politics,” said Ragonandan from Kraya, adding that “if it is imposed strongly, it will be very influential.” The ban is scheduled to start in January.

He said that more than half of the aircraft fuel exports in Ril were to the European Union, and therefore “the loss of this market will affect its revenues from some products heavier than others. But in general, it will create rethinking their export strategy.”

But Ril in December, also signed a 10 -year contract with Rosneft, and it is not clear how you will play with sanctions.