Irony in West, and Trump's America, accusing India of 'funding' Ukraine war

In the latest episode of the Donald Trump’s campaign against India, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has termed India’s purchase of Russian oil “not acceptable” and has clubbed India with China in supporting the Russian war on Ukraine.

Miller, however, ignored two facts.

Firstly, China has kept the entire Russian economy afloat by providing the country with consumer goods and absorbing its exports because of sanctions blocking its access to international market. China also provides Russia with raw materials, dual-use goods, and machinery to make weapons. It also provides drones. On the other hand, India simply buys Russian oil with no support comparable to China’s.

Secondly, Europe buys Russian oil and gas as well. In fact, Europe buys so much Russian oil and gas that it has paid more to Russia for energy imports than it has given to Ukraine in aid.

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In 2024, European Union (EU) members bought €21.9 billion ($25.4 billion) of Russian oil and gas compared to €18.7 billion ($21.69 billion) that they allocated in aid for Ukraine, according to estimates from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

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Miller and Trump do not have harsh words for Europe.

“What he [Trump] said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia…People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That’s an astonishing fact,” said Miller on Sunday.

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EU relies on Russian oil & gas — see figures

Even as Trump and his supporters has threatened India with sanctions and tariffs for buying Russian oil, the fact remains that the EU does the same.

Since 2022 when Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU has been the largest buyer of Russian liquified natural gas (51 per cent) and pipeline gas (37 per cent) and Turkey —a Nato member— has been the largest buyer of Russian oil products (26 per cent), according to CREA.

Since 2022, estimates have said that EU members have paid $215–235 billion to Russia for oil, gas, and coal imports, compared to $200 billion that they have allocated or pledged in aid to Ukraine.

Vaibhav Raghunandan, an analyst at CREA, told Guardian, that such a behaviour amounts to “sending financial aid to the Kremlin and enabling its invasion”.