The Ukraine War, Russian Oil and Western Hypocrisy

 

By

Dr. Somita Chakraborty

 

 

Since the beginning, the Ukraine war has remained one of the biggest challenges for western diplomacy. From February 2022, the United States (US) and its allies, like, the UK, the EU, Canada, Australia and Japan have introduced a number of sanctions on Russia. They excluded Russia from SWIFT, a high-speed messaging service for financial institutions, and declared their continuous effort to reduce trade ties with Russia. Despite all these efforts, the West failed to tame Russia. In 2025, Trump administration tried to negotiate between Russia and Ukraine and the process failed. Trump administration immediately has begun to blame India for their own diplomatic blunder. They began to propagate that India is helping Russia to continue the war. Going one step ahead, President Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro termed the Ukraine war as ‘Modi’s War’.[i] According to Trump administration, India is buying Russian oil, which indirectly fueling Russia’s war machinery to continue for three and half year. Continuing the propaganda, the US put 50% tariffs on Indian goods. But why the US and its allies are so much worried about India’s import of Russian oil?

India is one of the largest crude oil buyers of the world. To support its huge domestic consumers and developing economy, India buys millions of barrel oil per day. On the other hand, Russia is one of the biggest players in the global oil market. Collection from fossil fuel export constitutes one of the major shares of Russian purse. Since 2022, to avoid western sanctions, to diversify its oil market and to attract more buyers, Russia offered concessional price. In the last few years, considering attractive concessional price India increased its oil import from Russia. Besides Russia, India also buys oil from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, the US etc.

Therefore, how India could be blamed to export Russian oil throughout the world? According to Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), it is happening through ‘refining loophole’.[ii]According to rules of origin, Russian crude oil refined in China, would be classed as Chinese oil. Therefore, if India buys Russian oil, refined it and sell it to other countries as Indian oil, it is weaking the sanction, as through China, Turkey and India, Russia is selling its oil in the global market.

But what about the buyers? Why the UK, the EU, Australia and other close US allies are buying Indian oil? Because India is selling oil in a much lower price. Therefore, buying Indian oil is helping Western countries to save money. So, providing benefits to their own countrymen compelled them to remain blind for last three and half years. But what about India? India is buying Russian oil because of its concessional price. Moreover, the amount of India’s domestic consumer is larger than any single European country. Wait! If Western countries, including Ukraine, consciously buying Russian oil refined in Indian refinery, to save money, then its compulsion, and if India is doing the same then it is fueling war! And it is not enough. Since 2022, the US and Europe consciously raised their oil imports from countries, who refined cheap Russian oil, like India, Turkey etc. and saved money.[iii]

Let’s keep the above discussion aside for a while. Recently, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy supported the US tariff on Indian goods and termed it as a ‘Right idea’.[iv] Three years ago, Zelenskyy’s economic advisor urges to their Western allies to impose a complete ban Russian crude.[v] Then, a clean ban on Indian oil export to EU can easily change the situation. IS IT? Let’s check some other data. Russia is one of the largest global exporters of crude oil, natural gas through pipeline, LNG and other oil products. Besides China and India who are the other buyers? The European Union! Yes! You heard it right. According to CREA August 2025 report, EU is the fourth largest buyer of Russia’s fossil fuel and is the biggest buyer of Russian LNG and natural gas! But despite sanction, how the EU is buying Russian gas? Wait! The EU never put complete ban on Russian gas through pipeline! Moreover, Hungary and Slovakia are buying Russian crude oil through the southern branch of Druzhba pipeline, which is exempted from EU sanction![vi] Besides natural gas, the EU still imports fertilizers, nickel, iron, steel etc. from Russia.

What about the US? The US imports from Turkish refineries have increased astronomically in the last year. In the last three and half years, Turkey has risen from 14th to 3rd largest buyer of Russian crude oil.[vii]And of course, the US is completely unaware of these developments! The US also imports fertilizers, along with other products, from Russia. Meant, the EU and the US are also one of the main pillars behind Russian War machinery. Are they going to put a ban on themselves?    

Besides that, India has a number of large refineries and Russian oil counts only around 38% of its total import. It also imports large amount of oil from other sources. So, is it possible to find out, that the refined products, which Western countries are buying from India, are produced from Russian oil? NO! it is not possible. According to experts, though it cannot be separated and claimed that which particular products are produced from Russian oil, “it is fair to say at least some of the refined products going into Europe are produced from Russian material”.[viii] Meant, it is not sure who is using refined Russian oil, Indian domestic consumers, Europe or some other country!

The EU and the US itself, continuously buying Russian gas to fuel their own growth strategy and has remained blind at it. Then why the Western countries are blaming India? This worthless Western propaganda only exposed their hypocrisy. There is no doubt that they designed the propaganda purposefully to malign India’s peace-loving image. In a globalized world and in the era of market orient economy, sanctions have already proved as a useless weapon. Now it’s time for the US and its close allies to rethink and reshape their diplomatic skills, and make it appropriate for a 21st century multipolar world.


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