Peter Navarro, trade advisor to US President Donald Trump, has labeled the Ukraine conflict as “Modi’s war.” He further doubled down on the attack on India’s crude trade with Russia, claiming US tariffs on New Delhi are not just about unfair trade, but cutting Moscow’s “financial lifelines.” He argued that money from India’s oil purchases goes straight into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s armory.
8/ It doesn’t stop there. India continues to buy Russian weapons—while demanding that U.S. firms transfer sensitive military tech and build plants in India.
That’s strategic freeloading. pic.twitter.com/KJBSGb3pD3---Advertisement---— Peter Navarro (@RealPNavarro) August 28, 2025
Explaining what he called the “India-Russia Oil Mathematics,” he said, “American consumers buy Indian goods while India keeps out U.S. exports through high tariffs and non-tariff barriers. India uses our dollars to buy discounted Russian crude.” He claimed that Indian refiners, “with their silent Russian partners, refine and flip the black-market oil for big profits on the international market – while Russia pockets hard currency to fund its war on Ukraine.”
Navarro pointed out that before Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian oil made up less than 1% of India’s imports, but now it’s over 30%, with Indian needs necessitating the import of more than 1.5 million barrels per day.
India has defended its purchases of Russian oil, saying it was necessary to keep energy prices low and stabilize its domestic market, and has cast the US actions as “unjustified.” India is the only major economy that has been cast with secondary tariffs, even though countries like China are also major buyers of Russian crude.
India used to depend more on the Middle East for its oil purchases, but after Russia invaded Ukraine and the Group of Seven nations imposed a $60-per-barrel price cap to limit the Kremlin’s oil revenue while ensuring that supplies continued to flow globally, India’s ability to get discounted cargoes was a feature of the arrangement.
However, Navarro has claimed that Indian refiners buy cheap Russian oil, process it, and export fuels to Europe, Africa, and Asia while being shielded from sanctions under the pretense of neutrality.
He said, “India now exports over 1 million barrels a day in refined petroleum—more than half the volume of Russian crude it imports. The proceeds flow to India’s politically connected energy titans—and directly into Putin’s war chest. While the United States pays to arm Ukraine, India bankrolls Russia even as it slaps some of the world’s highest tariffs on U.S. goods, which in turn punishes American exporters.”
The Trump adviser also detailed how the US now runs a $50-billion trade deficit with India—and claimed New Delhi is “using our dollars to buy Russian oil.”
“They make a killing, and Ukrainians die. It doesn’t stop there. India continues to buy Russian weapons—while demanding that U.S. firms transfer sensitive military tech and build plants in India. That’s strategic freeloading,” he said.
Navarro blamed the previous Joe Biden administration for looking the “other way at this madness” and said President Trump is confronting it.
