India's Russian imports up 3.5 times on oil buys despite Western pressure

It's now the 4th largest petroleum supplier for India with exports worth $1.3 bn in April

On the back of rising crude oil purchases, India’s bill for imports from sanctions-hit Russia jumped 3.5 times in a year in April to $2.3 billion, showed data from the commerce ministry.

In April, India’s crude oil imports from Russia were valued at $1.3 billion, 57 per cent of India’s total inbound shipments from Russia. Other major imported items during the month included coal, soybean and sunflower oil, fertilisers, and non-industrial diamonds.

That month, Russia was also the fourth-largest crude petroleum supplier to India, after Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As far as overall imports are