India won’t blink: Russian oil will still keep coming despite latest US sanctions

India’s Russian oil fix isn’t going anywhere. Even as Washington rolls out new sanctions, India is poised to keep Russian crude flowing, “just through less transparent routes”, analysts say.

November saw imports surge to a five-month high before a sanctions-driven dip set in, but that slowdown is likely to be only “temporary” as Moscow scrambles to reroute barrels and Indian refiners seek out compliant, non-sanctioned suppliers, says Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst at global commodity analytics firm Kpler.