India emerged as the second-largest importer of Russian crude oil in October, trailing only China, according to the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Indian purchases stood at $2.5 billion, while China’s imports reached $3.7 billion. Overall, India’s fossil-fuel imports from Russia totaled $3.1 billion, compared with China’s $5.8 billion.
Following India, Turkiye was the third-largest buyer at $2.7 billion, and the European Union ranked fourth, importing $1.1 billion worth of Russian fossil fuels.
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has prompted Western nations to pressure India and China to limit their Russian oil imports, arguing that such purchases indirectly support Moscow’s war efforts. In response, the US recently imposed sanctions on Russia’s top oil exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil, which are expected to impact December import figures for both India and China.
China continued to dominate Russian coal imports, with India and Turkiye following. In October, India imported $351 million worth of Russian coal along with $222 million in oil products. Turkiye, meanwhile, led in imports of Russian oil products at $957 million, with nearly half consisting of diesel, and also purchased $929 million in pipeline gas and $572 million in crude oil.
The EU imported $824 million worth of Russian LNG and pipeline gas in October, alongside $311 million of crude oil. South Korea ranked fifth among Russian fossil-fuel importers, with coal accounting for 53% of its $215 million imports, followed by LNG at $107 million and oil products at $80 million.
