Russia’s crude exports to China have surpassed exports to India for the first time since December 2023. Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) had confirmed that they are not accepting crude from sanctioned Russian oil entities. The lower supply of Russian crude oil to India could balloon New Delhi’s oil import bill. India has spent 112.5 billion euro (about Rs 1.5 lakh crore) on buying crude oil from Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, according to a recent report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) China made crude oil purchases worth 170 billion euro from Russia in the period. The US imposed sanctions on Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, on about 180 tankers shipping Russian oil, on January 10, in an attempt to curb Moscow’s revenues that are being used to finance the war in Ukraine. India and China have been the primary destinations for Russian oil since Ukraine war broke out. However, India has overtaken China for receiving Russian oil.