More S-400s, even cheaper oil: India-Russia further strengthen ties

Just days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in China, Moscow appears to take further steps to strengthen its relations with New Delhi.

Two major updates have come through — the first being India’s opportunity to even cheaper oil from Russia. The second is Moscow’s reported promise to fulfill India’s pending defence deals.

India purchased 5 S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems from Russia in 2018 for nearly $6 billion. But only three of those were delivered, which have now been battle tested against Pakistan. Now, reports say Moscow will send the remaining 2 units by 2027.

"India already has our S-400 system," TASS quoted Dmitry Shugayev, head of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, as saying. "There is potential to expand our cooperation in this area as well. That means new deliveries. For now, we are in the negotiation stage."

Russia is also one of India's top arms suppliers, and the warm ties between the two countries date back to the Soviet era.

A separate report from Bloomberg said Russia's Urals crude is now being offered at discounts of $3 to $4 a barrel in comparison to Brent — a move that would likely irk Donald Trump once again. And the discounts have seen a steep rise since Trump began critiquing India for buying Russian oil.

New Delhi insists its oil trade with Moscow does not violate any international laws, noting that no sanctions prohibit crude purchases. While the European Union recently banned refined fuel made from Russian oil, the US has not imposed such restrictions.

Ukraine's Western allies have sought to cut Russia's export earnings since Moscow launched its military assault in February 2022.


Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in remarks published on Wednesday that India did not bow to the demands by the United States to stop purchasing resources from Russia and that Moscow "appreciated" that.

But Russia has been able to redirect energy sales away from Europe to countries including India and China, ensuring the multi-billion-dollar flow of funds has continued.

India has argued it imported oil "from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict".

Putin to visit India

Putin will pay an official visit to India in December, the Kremlin said last month, as ties between the countries grow closer. Putin has significantly curtailed his foreign travel amid the offensive on Ukraine, for which he was slapped with an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.

India is not a party to the ICC and therefore not obligated to detain Putin.

India's Modi told Vladimir Putin on Monday that India and Russia stood side by side even in difficult times after the Kremlin leader called the Indian prime minister his "dear friend" on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in China.