Flow is very unlikely to drop to near-zero as many had forecast after the US blacklisted Russian crude giants Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC.

For much of last year, discounted Russian oil made up the lion’s share of Indian purchases, a financial lifeline for Moscow that also shaved billions off New Delhi’s import bill. Then came US threats, tariffs, sanctions — and months of disruption.

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the US made much bigger sacrifices than the European countries in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "We have put 25% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. Guess what happened last week?

Iraq is poised to overtake Russia as India’s top oil supplier as New Delhi diversifies crude imports amid US pressure over Russian energy purchases.