India is securing Russian crude at deeper discounts even as Washington intensifies pressure on New Delhi to curb its energy trade with Moscow, which the Trump administration says is financing the war in Ukraine.
The price of Russia’s Urals grade has fallen to a discount of $3–$4 per barrel to Brent on a delivered basis, people familiar with recent offers told Bloomberg. The cargoes are scheduled to load in late September and October.
Flows continue
Despite a brief pause in early August, Indian refiners have continued to lift Russian supplies. Discounts have widened from about $1 per barrel in July to $2.50 per barrel last week, and now $3–$4 per barrel, traders said. US crude, by contrast, has recently sold at a $3 per barrel premium.Between 27 August 2025 and 1 September 2025, state-run and private processors received 11.4 million barrels of Russian crude, according to shipping data from Kpler. One of the shipments was carried by the Victor Konetsky, a US-sanctioned vessel, via ship-to-ship transfer.
Urals, Russia’s flagship crude shipped from western ports, continues to flow to global markets. China remains its largest buyer, taking deliveries by both pipeline and sea, even as India faces sharper scrutiny over its purchases.
A trade under scrutiny
Since the conflict in Ukraine began in 2022, India has emerged as one of Moscow’s largest oil customers. Its refiners stepped up purchases at a time when Western nations moved to restrict Russian exports. New Delhi has argued that the trade is legitimate and has helped stabilise global markets, but the United States has imposed tariffs and issued repeated warnings.At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described relations with Russia as “special”. He also met Chinese President Xi Jinping, with both sides pledging to strengthen cooperation. The outreach underscored India’s attempt to balance its energy security needs with mounting geopolitical pressure.
War of words
The sharpest criticism has come from White House adviser Peter Navarro, who accused India of acting as a “laundromat for the Kremlin”. In an interview with Fox News, he alleged that Indian refiners were buying discounted Russian crude, processing it, and selling products abroad at higher prices. “Look, Modi’s a great leader. I don’t understand why he’s getting into bed with Putin and Xi Jinping when he’s the biggest democracy in the world. So I would just simply say to the Indian people: please, understand what’s going on here. You’ve got Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people. We need that to stop. Yeah, and we’ll be watching that closely,” Navarro said.
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri directly rejected the charge, writing in The Hindu that India’s purchases had prevented a global price surge. “Some critics allege that India has become a ‘laundromat’ for Russian oil. Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.
