India is poised to lift its purchases of Russian crude by 10 %–20 % in September—equivalent to about 150,000–300,000 barrels a day—despite Washington’s decision this week to double tariffs on Indian goods to 50 % in protest at the trade. Traders cited by Reuters said refiners have already booked the additional cargoes, signalling New Delhi’s determination to keep tapping discounted supplies from Moscow. Russian producers have widened the discount on Urals crude to US$2–US$3 a barrel below dated Brent after refinery outages, some caused by Ukrainian drone attacks, idled as much as 17 % of Russia’s processing capacity. The cheaper barrels are offsetting higher logistics costs: freight for shipments from Baltic ports to India has risen to around US$6 million per voyage as fresh EU sanctions tighten tanker availability and a new bloc price cap of US$47.60 a barrel takes effect on 2 September. India imported roughly 1.5 million barrels a day of Russian oil during the first 20 days of August, accounting for about 40 % of its crude requirements and confirming the country’s status as the largest buyer of seaborne Russian supplies. Analysts say New Delhi is unlikely to curb volumes unless economics shift markedly or a broader international ban emerges, given that Russian grades remain cheaper than many alternatives. Even as it absorbs more Russian barrels, India has moved to diversify. Indian Oil Corp recently bought 5 million barrels of West Texas Intermediate for October–November delivery, while Bharat Petroleum and Reliance Industries secured a further 4 million barrels combined. The purchases help narrow India’s trade deficit with the United States and suggest refiners are hedging against potential future restrictions on Russian flows.