According to trade data shared with Reuters, India is the biggest buyer of seaborne crude from Russia, importing about 1.75 million barrels per day from January to June this year, up 1 per cent from one year ago. In total, it imported Russian oil worth about £38bn in the financial year ending March 2025.

President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on India as punishment for importing Russian oil, according to a document posted on the White House website — an escalation of his trade battle with New Delhi and his first use of so-called secondary sanctions on countries the US says are fueling Moscow’s war machine.

Tariffs on Indian exports to the United States will surge to 50 percent by late August, as part of an effort by President Trump to pressure Russia into resolving its war in Ukraine.