Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed in a Wall Street Journal interview published around the time of the UN General Assembly that China and India are the two most useful countries to Russian President Vladimir Putin in relation to sanctions. He repeated these accusations on European media this morning.
It is energy trade with these two countries that is currently financing the war, Zelensky said. United States, China and India collectively putting pressure on Russia is enough to bring an end to the war, he added.
Although he identified a “lack of a consistently strong position from China and India” in his address to partners, Zelensky struck a softer note on New Delhi in a subsequent Fox interview, saying he believed that “for the most part, India is with us” and that it was only energy trade with Russia that remained an open question.
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian crude oil made up only a marginal portion of India’s total oil imports. However, in the years following the invasion, crude imports from Russia became a major component of total oil imports for the country, with Indian refineries purchasing roughly $140 billion worth of Russian crude between 2022 and mid-2025, according to analysis of trade data published by European research institutions in July 2026.
Of Russia’s total crude exports in July 2026, 37% went to India, while 50% went to China, according to the same analysis. While most of these exports would currently find their way to third countries, it is Europe that is currently reluctant to purchase Russian crude at prices comparable to those offered by other producers in the Middle East, typically at a discount.
China’s role in enabling Putin to work around sanctions extends far beyond the energy trade, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in a November 2025 report. The report, entitled Energy, called China “a decisive enabler of Russia’s sanctions evasion and export-control evasion.” This was based on higher oil and gas imports from Russia by China as well as an increase in the trade of dual-use goods, which could also be used for military purposes.
Barter deals involving grain and raw materials for Russian-made military equipment have also been reported to be used by the Kremlin to reduce reliance on dollar-denominated transactions and on the services of Western banks, in addition to trade of cars, electronics and industrial components made by Chinese companies that are replacing similar goods from Western manufacturers on Russian markets.
As for India, its purchases of Russian Urals have been described by Indian officials and refiners as strictly market-driven and not part of any political alignment with Moscow. In fact, the largest buyer of Russian oil of all, India, is currently subject to the possibility of being hit with tariffs of up to 100% on its Russian oil imports under the recently signed Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump.
Whether or not Trump will use this authority to pressure the two major Asian buyers of Russian oil remains to be seen, but Ukrainian officials have pointed to the role of key Russian missile producers operating through jurisdictions including China, as one of the key components of ongoing sanctions evasion by the Kremlin.
Trade between China and Russia totaled $135 billion in the first half of 2026, with Russia’s exports to China including energy products as well as raw materials, and China’s exports including cars, electronics and industrial goods that would otherwise have been imported from the West.
Zelenskiy’s efforts to increase economic pain on Russia by targeting China and India is a sign of desperation, as Russia continues to take territory in the east and pressures Ukrainian infrastructure via overnight strikes.
