1 year of Ukraine war: Cheaper crude from Russia pushes India's import bill

Exports to Russia contracted 13.5 per cent at $2.2 billion during the first three quarters of the current fiscal year

In a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, Moscow has leapfrogged to become India’s fifth largest trade partner from 25th spot in FY22. Trade between India and the sanctions-hit Russia touched $35 billion during the April-December period. In contrast, the size of the trade was almost a fourth, at $9.1 billion, the data showed.

The expansion in the size of trade has been because of a fivefold increase in imports to $32.81 billion during the April-December period, dominated by discounted Russian crude oil. India imported 17.1 per cent of its total crude oil, making Russia the third-largest crude oil supplier to