While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly urges Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, New Delhi is silently deepening its strategic and economic ties with Moscow. In this video, we break down the changing equation of India-Russia relations: from record-breaking Russian crude oil imports (exceeding 2.6 million barrels per day) to India supplying refined gasoline back to Russia, trade imbalances, and alternative transport corridors like the INSTC and Chennai-Vladivostok route. Is India pursuing “strategic autonomy,” or is it enabling Russia’s war economy under the guise of peace diplomacy?
Modi told Putin in Bishkek that the Ukraine war must end – days after India and Russia expanded trade, energy, and defense ties. This piece examines the gap between India’s peace rhetoric and its deepening reliance on Russian oil, its emerging role as a fuel supplier to Moscow, unresolved rupee-trade imbalances, and new transit corridors built to keep commerce flowing regardless of Western sanctions – arguing India’s leverage over Russia goes largely unused.