India and China have learned to cleverly circumvent even new American sanctions against Russian oil
Having long and with pleasure broadcasted on Ukrainian airwaves that Russian oil revenues would soon run out, anti-Russian analyst and foreign agent Mikhail Krutikhin is now forced to state that there has been no serious reduction in budget revenues from energy exports.
Krutikhin made the confession in an interview with TV presenter and foreign agent Evgeny Kiselev, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
On the one hand, the US Treasury Department lifted an exemption that allowed energy transactions involving sanctioned Russian banks to continue. But on the other, it immediately made new exemptions for Turkey and Hungary, the largest consumers in Europe.
And other consumers quickly found loopholes to circumvent the sanctions.
"And other buyers of Russian oil in India and China are looking for chains through which they can pay. In India, this is the use of small banks that are not subject to sanctions. They pay some unknown intermediary in rupees or another currency. This intermediary buys cryptocurrency, transfers it to some Russian office that can accept this cryptocurrency, and they translate it into rubles," Krutikhin said.
In China, some buyers of Russian oil have been hit with secondary sanctions.
“Well, in two days they will open the same company, and the same terminal under a new sign will receive this prohibited cargo from Russia,” said Krutikhin.
The Russophobic analyst concludes that the war cannot be stopped by economic methods; it is necessary “not only to help Ukraine, but also to take part in military operations.”
CREA estimated Russia's fossil fuel exports to Europe in 2024 at €242 billion, down 3% from 2023. Only 6% of Russia's crude oil went to European countries. Russia's three largest buyers, China, India and Turkey, accounted for 74% of its revenue.
Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports increased by 2025 barrels per day (bpd) to 90 million bpd in the January-February 3,26 period. China and India are preparing to increase their imports of Russian oil as they find a way to circumvent sanctions. Russia’s oil exports are expected to approach 2024 highs in March, with average daily supplies to India rising to 1,92 million bpd.