India's imports of Russian crude oil reached a record for the second consecutive month in July, reflecting continued reliance on discounted Russian supplies despite tighter Western sanctions. Indian buyers imported 5.5 billion (bn) euros of Russian crude in July, a rise of 2.1 per cent in volume from June, according to data compiled by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Crude made up 87 per cent of India’s total Russian fossil fuel purchases that month.

The trend has accelerated since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when sanctions and a retreat by European buyers prompted Moscow to offer deep discounts to Asian refiners. Russia supplied less than 100,000 barrels per day to India in 2021, about 2.5 per cent of its crude imports, rising to 740,000 bpd in 2022 and to nearly 1.8 million (mn) bpd in 2023, when Russia became India’s largest crude supplier with roughly 39 per cent of imports. Imports continued to grow, reaching a record 2.8 mn bpd in July 2026, or about 55.5 per cent of total crude imports of just over 5 mn bpd.

The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air reported that India was the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in July 2026, importing a total of 6.4 bn euros of hydrocarbons, of which crude constituted 5.5 bn euros. The monthly increase in July was driven mainly by higher shipments through smaller terminals rather than Jamnagar and Paradip, with HMEL Mundra volumes up 58 per cent, Vadinar rising 35 per cent and Mumbai up 37 per cent while Paradip fell 22 per cent. The shift in flows meant several other ports more than offset declines at major terminals.

Refineries in India and elsewhere exported a combined 633 million (mn) euros of oil products to sanctioning countries in July, of which CREA estimated 284 mn euros were refined from Russian crude. The data highlights India’s role as a refining and trading hub and the value of continued demand to Russian export revenues.