The geopolitical pressure on India over its Russian oil purchases has intensified sharply after U.S. President Donald Trump gave the green signal to a powerful new sanctions bill that could reshape global energy trade. The proposed legislation would allow the U.S. President to impose tariffs of up to 500% on countries that continue buying oil or uranium from Russia — a move clearly aimed at nations like India, China, and Brazil.
According to senior U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the bill’s key architects and a close ally of President Trump, the legislation has already received presidential approval and could be put to a vote in Congress as early as next week. If passed, it would give the White House unprecedented leverage over countries that are still purchasing discounted Russian energy, which Washington believes is helping fund Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Senator Graham did not mince words while explaining the intent behind the bill. He said the objective is to pressure major importers to stop buying “cheap Russian oil” that is, in his words, financing President Vladimir Putin’s war effort. With overwhelming bipartisan backing — 84 co-sponsors in the Senate and 151 in the House of Representatives — the bill is widely expected to pass without difficulty once it reaches the floor.
The timing of this development is particularly significant for India. It comes just days before Sergio Gor, the U.S. Ambassador-designate to India, is set to arrive in New Delhi to formally begin his tenure. Mr. Gor, who will also serve as the U.S. Special Envoy to South and Central Asia, has already made it clear that pushing India to end Russian oil imports will be one of his top priorities.
During his Senate confirmation hearings earlier, Mr. Gor stated that President Trump had been “crystal clear” on the issue. He openly acknowledged that India remains a major buyer of Russian crude and warned that the new sanctions law would empower the President to impose tariffs far higher than the existing 25% penalty currently in place.
President Trump himself hinted at the upcoming legislation earlier this week during a joint appearance with Senator Graham, describing it as “great legislation” that would give the administration discretion to impose tariffs well beyond the current limits. If enacted, the law would not just encourage reductions — it would push for a complete halt to Russian oil imports.
There are already signs that this pressure is having an impact. Reliance Industries, which operates the world’s largest oil refinery complex at Jamnagar, confirmed that it has not received Russian crude shipments for most of December and does not expect any in January either. This suggests that at least some Indian refiners are proactively adjusting their sourcing strategies.
While Indian public sector oil companies did increase their intake of Russian crude in November 2025, the overall picture looks less optimistic. Reliance stepping back, combined with sanctions-hit Nayara Energy’s inability to import, makes it unlikely that India’s Russian oil imports will return to earlier peak levels anytime soon.
This is not the first time India has faced such pressure. In 2018, under the previous Trump administration, New Delhi was forced to completely halt oil imports from Iran and Venezuela following similar U.S. sanctions threats.
International reactions have also underscored the shift. In Paris, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski publicly welcomed India’s reduction in Russian oil purchases during a joint appearance with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, alongside the foreign ministers of France and Germany.
As Washington sharpens its stance, India now finds itself balancing strategic autonomy, energy security, and diplomatic realities — once again at the center of a high-stakes global power play.
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