Russian Oil Exports to India Set to Rise Amid Moscow’s Desperation; US Official Navarro Says Russia-Ukraine Conflict is ‘Modi’s War’; Indian Families Should Have Three Children, Says RSS Chief Bhagwat

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A newsletter from The Wire | Founded by Tanweer Alam, Sidharth Bhatia, Pratik Kanjilal, Seema Chishti, Sushant Singh, MK Venu, and Siddharth Varadarajan | Contributing writer: Kalrav Joshi, with additional inputs by Anirudh SK

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Over to Sidharth Bhatia for today’s Cable

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Snapshot of the day

August 28, 2025

Sidharth Bhatia

Even as India continues to pay the price with regard to the United States President Donald Trump’s imposed 50% tariffs on most US imports from India – making good on a threat to punish one of the world’s largest economies over its purchases of discounted Russian oil – Russian oil exports to India are set to climb sharply in September as Moscow, reeling from crippling Ukrainian drone attacks on its energy infrastructure, slashes prices to offload crude it can no longer refine at home. According to three trading sources, Reuters reports that the Indian refiners are expected to raise imports by 10–20% over August levels – an additional 150,000–300,000 barrels per day – taking advantage of Moscow’s desperation to move oil that would otherwise choke its damaged system. Ukraine’s drone campaign has hit 10 Russian refineries in recent days, knocking out as much as 17% of the country’s refining capacity and leaving Moscow with excess crude but fewer means to process it into fuel. The result: a fire sale of Russian oil, with India emerging once again as the willing buyer. This once again showcases a stark reality: while Russia’s war machine is being weakened at home, its crude continues to find safe passage into India, making New Delhi both a beneficiary of Moscow’s vulnerability and a quiet enabler of its embattled economy.

Controversial White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has once again alleged that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is “Modi’s war”, piling up the pressure on Delhi