Growing Tensions as Trump Advisor Claims India is Funding Russia's War in Ukraine as Tariff Disputes Mount. Image: Embassy of India in Moscow.
(The Post News)– A top US President Donald Trump advisor has accused India of essentially bankrolling Russia’s war against Ukraine by persisting with importing oil from Moscow, exacerbating the deepening chasm between Washington and New Delhi over energy and defense cooperation.
In an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller stated that Trump made it obvious that it is unacceptable for India to continue funding this war by consuming Russian energy. Miller added that people will be surprised to find that India is tied with China as a customer of Russian oil—”that’s just amazing.”
The comments are the harshest US criticism of one of its most important Indo-Pacific allies to date, just days after it slapped a 25% tariff on all Indian imports. The retaliatory measure is part of a wider push to economically isolate Russia as it continues to attack Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year.
Despite growing pressure from the U.S., sources in the Indian government told Reuters at the weekend that New Delhi would continue to purchase Russian oil. “India’s imports have remained entirely legitimate and within the purview of international norms,” a senior official said, referring to the G7-EU price cap mechanism on oil, which does not bar such purchases.
India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, has drastically increased its imports from Russia since the Ukraine war began in 2022. From just 1% of its oil supply coming from Russia before the conflict, that figure surged to nearly 40% at its peak in 2023, making Moscow New Delhi’s top crude supplier.
Trump threatened further sanctions if India continues these dealings, including 100% on U.S. imports of countries that continue to buy Russian oil. On July 30, the president posted on his Truth Social platform that India is Russia’s largest importer of energy, with China, while everyone urges Russia to “STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE!”
Nevertheless, Trump also appeared to walk a diplomatic tightrope, calling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “tremendous” ally and pointing to the “friendship” between the two nations, while condemning India’s defense purchases and BRICS membership. In another post on X, Trump noted that he is not bothered by what India does with Russia; they can destroy each other’s dying economies together.
In response to this, India’s foreign ministry once again emphasized that energy decisions are based on “price, grade of crude, inventories, logistics, and other economic considerations.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday that they assess what is available in the markets, as well as the current global condition or scenario. Indian officials further stated that their purchases have prevented international oil prices from going haywire. A top Indian official highlighted that if India had not taken cheaper Russian crude during an OPEC+ era of lowering output, international oil prices may have gone substantially higher than the March 2022 high of $137 per barrel, increasing global inflation.
India’s decades-old defense ties with Russia are also being reexamined. In a March 2025 report, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) confirmed that Russia remained India’s largest provider of military equipment. This week, Trump imposed sanctions on India’s ongoing weapons purchases from Moscow, piling onto an already delicate balancing act for New Delhi in attempting to maintain strategic autonomy between Western and Eastern powers.
Modi met President Vladimir Putin of Russia in Moscow last year and has continued frequent dialogue at multilateral platforms, underlining a “time-tested” relationship that goes back to the Cold War times. Although Trump asserted on Friday that India had suspended oil imports from Russia, Indian officials rejected the claim immediately. Two senior Indian officials said that “there had been no change in Indian government policy.” One of them explained, “These are long-term oil contracts. It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s armed forces reported that it had knocked out some Russian oil infrastructure over the weekend, including a refinery in Ryazan and an oil depot, in what appeared to be retaliation for Russian assaults. Ukrainian forces also reported attacking a drone airbase and electronics plant well inside Russian land.
As Trump’s administration increasingly ties its trade policy to the Ukraine conflict, India stands in the center of a menacing geopolitical showdown poised to reshape its energy and defense policies for decades to come.
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