Remember that headline from February?
"Modi agrees to stop buying Russian oil."
Trump slashed tariffs on India from 50% to 18% because of it.
The deal was simple: India cools off on Russian crude, Washington cools off on tariffs.
Everyone shook hands. Everyone moved on.
Except… nobody told India's refineries.
India just imported a record EUR 4.5 billion worth of Russian crude oil.
Not a typo. Not a blip.
A 34% jump from May.
👉 India is now the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels on Earth, right behind China.
So much for slowing down.
Look at who's doing the buying:
These aren't rogue traders.
These are India's biggest oil companies, buying more Russian crude than ever, right after a diplomatic deal said the opposite would happen.
Russia's actual oil revenue fell 8% in June.
Why? Prices dropped.
So Moscow is exporting more barrels just to make the same money.
India buying record volumes is basically propping up Russian export earnings while Russia's per-barrel profit quietly bleeds out.
Discount economics, working exactly as designed.
India isn't just burning this oil at home.
Refineries here are turning Russian crude into diesel and jet fuel — then shipping it to the very countries sanctioning Russia.
The UK just took its first-ever jet fuel cargo from Jamnagar, worth EUR 63 million, landing at Thames Haven under a special import exemption.
Even the EU, which banned refined Russian fuel outright, quietly unloaded two shipments from Indian refineries in June.
So was the tariff truce ever real…
or just a headline that bought both sides some breathing room.
Either way, the barrels keep flowing.
That's all for now!
