India has never publicly confirmed any such pledge and has said its buying decisions are guided by price, supply security and consumer interests
India's crude oil purchases from Russia more than tripled to 5.3 billion euro in March as volumes doubled and a surge in oil prices pushed up the import bill. European think tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), in a report, said after a drop in purchases in February, India was back to a buying binge in March. "India was the second-highest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in March 2026, importing a total of EUR 5.8 billion of Russian hydrocarbons. Crude oil products constituted 91 per cent of India's purchases, totalling EUR 5.3 billion," it said. Coal (EUR 337 million) and oil products (EUR 178.5 million) constituted the remainder of their monthly imports. In February, India was the third largest importer, purchasing Russian hydrocarbons worth 1.8 billion euro. Crude oil constituted the largest share at 81 per cent (EUR 1.4 billion), followed by coal (EUR 223 million) and oil products (EUR 121 million). "While India's total crude imports recorded a 4 per cent ...
A surge in oil prices triggered by the Iran conflict is delivering billions to Russia. But beneath the windfall, economic risks still remain.
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited seeks LPG cargo from Russia as Hormuz disruption deepens supply crisis, forcing India to diversify sourcing beyond the Middle East
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 175 prisoners of war (PoWs) each as the 32-hour Easter truce announced by the Kremlin began at 4 pm on Saturday. President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared the 32-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter weekend. According to his order, Russian forces are to observe the ceasefire starting 4 pm (local time) Saturday till the end of Sunday along the almost 1,300 kms long front in east Ukraine. Apart from the 175 PoWs exchanged by both sides, Ukraine has also released seven Russian civilians, earlier taken hostage from the western region of Kursk, Russian ombudswoman Tatiana Maskalkova told Rossia 24 state TV. The state TV also added that after more than an hour after its beginning, the truce was holding. However, the Russian troops have been ordered to be on standby and ready to repulse any "provocation" by the Ukrainian side. Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter according to the Julian Calendar, which this year falls on April 12.
Russian drone strikes killed at least two people in the Ukrainian city of Odesa overnight into Saturday, local authorities reported, ahead of a proposed ceasefire for Orthodox Easter. A further two people were wounded in the attack on the Black Sea port city, when drones hit a residential area, damaging apartment buildings, houses and a kindergarten. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia targeted Ukraine with 160 drones overnight, of which 133 were shot down or intercepted, hours before a proposed Easter ceasefire was due to come into force. Russia's Defence Ministry said 99 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight across Russia and occupied Crimea. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter weekend, ordering Russian forces to halt hostilities from 4 pm Saturday until the end of Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukraine is ready to mirror any ceasefire steps, having earlier proposed to .
Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over the Orthodox Easter weekend. Putin's decree, released by the Kremlin, orders Russian forces to observe a ceasefire starting on 4 pm Saturday and lasting until the end of Sunday. Putin's move follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposal earlier this week to observe a pause in attacks on each other's energy infrastructure over the Orthodox Easter. He said he made the offer through the United States, which has been mediating talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv as the conflict stretches into a fifth year.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz - and attacks on the world's largest LNG export plant in Qatar - has throttled about a fifth of global supply, upending the gas market and lifting prices
India has also ramped up oil purchases from alternate sources such as Nigeria and Angola
Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz that had been repeatedly watered down in hopes those two countries would abstain. The vote - 11 in favour, two against and two abstentions - took place just hours before an 8 pm Eastern deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Iran to open the strategic waterway or face attacks on its power plants and bridges. One-fifth of the world's oil typically passes through the strait, and Iran's stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring. It's doubtful the resolution, even if it had been adopted, would have impacted the war, now in its fifth week, because it was been significantly weakened to try to get Russia and China to abstain rather than veto it. The initial Bahrain proposal would have authorised countries to use "all necessary means" - UN wording that would include military action - to ensure transit through the Strait of Hormuz and deter attempts to close ...
Attempts on Friday to limit VPN use could have sparked the disruption affecting banking apps, The Bell and other Russian media reported, citing industry sources who weren't identified
With the West Asia crisis continuing to drive volatility in the global energy market, Russia has offered to increase supply of crude oil and natural gas to India even as the two sides agreed to further enhance the overall bilateral ties. The energy cooperation figured prominently in meetings Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov held with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday, people familiar with the matter said. Manturov also held talks with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi last evening. A Russian readout of the First Deputy Prime Minister's engagements in New Delhi said special attention was accorded to bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector. "Denis Manturov confirmed that Russian companies have the capacity to steadily increase supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas to the Indian market," it said. The comments came as the the West Asia crisis continued
A cut in output in Russia would add to the strain on global supplies when oil markets have already been jolted by unprecedented supply disruption because of the conflict in the Middle East
In the first two months of the year, GDP fell by 1.8 per cent
A Russian tanker docked Tuesday at the Cuban port of Matanzas laden with 730,000 barrels of oil, marking the first time in three months that an oil tanker reached the island. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump had allowed the Anatoly Kolodkin to proceed despite an ongoing US energy blockade. Cubans including Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy cheered the ship's arrival. A shortage of petroleum has exacerbated a deep economic crisis that has left the population mired in long blackouts and facing a severe shortage of food and medicine. "Our gratitude to the Government and People of Russia for all the support we are receiving. A valuable shipment that arrives amid the complex energy situation we are facing," de la O Levy wrote on X. Cuba produces barely 40 per cent of its required fuel and relies on imports to sustain its energy grid. Experts say the anticipated shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba's daily demand for ni
On the sidelines of Brcis, a separate working visit by Lavrov will take place to meet External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and other Indian officials
Asian nations are increasingly competing for Russian crude oil as an energy crisis mounts amid the month-old war by the US and Israel against Iran, which has choked off roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply. Much of the oil from the mostly shut Strait of Hormuz was headed for Asia, hit hardest by recent energy shocks. Over the weekend, Iran-backed Houthi rebels entered the conflict, further threatening shipping. To shore up global crude oil supplies, the US has temporarily eased sanctions on Russian oil shipments already at sea - first for India, then for the rest of the world. Demand is rising in Asia while Russia is raking in billions of dollars. But experts say there is a limit to how much Moscow can boost its exports of crude oil, which is unrefined petroleum needed to make fuels like gasoline and diesel, and it is already exporting at a level close to its previous peak. In addition, Russia's 4-year-old full-scale invasion of Ukraine and recent drone attacks on its energy .
Discussions covered a wide range of issues, including bilateral cooperation as well as regional and global developments of mutual interest, and reviewed the entire gamut of India-Russia relations
"If Russia is ready to stop striking Ukrainian energy, we won't be returning the strikes against their energy," Zelenskyy said
The government has also secured arrangements for 2.8 million tonnes of urea from Russia through the Cape of Good Hope route