News - World: While Europe has imposed embargo on Russia's oil, Europe’s cars are still empowered by Russian oil with the help of India, a report says.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg from analytics firm Kpler late last month, India were on track to become Europe’s largest supplier of refined fuels in April.

India has increased its imports of cheap crude from Russia, Europe’s previous top supplier, turning it into fuels like diesel, and exporting it to Europe at a markup.

“Russian oil is finding its way back into Europe despite all the sanctioning and India ramping up fuel exports to the West is a good example of it,” said Viktor Katona, lead crude analyst at the firm. “With India taking in so much Russian barrels, it’s inevitable.”

The European Union imposed a ban on almost any seaborne crude oil imports from Russia last December, and extended the prohibition to refined fuels two months later.

Kpler’s data show that Europe’s refined fuel imports from India are set to soar above 360,000 barrels a day, exceeding those of Saudi Arabia.

According to the report, Russian crude oil accounts for almost 44% of India’s overall oil imports.

The sanctions imposed by Europe on Russia oil are part of Western coercive measures against Russia after Moscow launched what it called a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia started the military operation in order to defend the pro-Russian population in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk against persecution by Kiev.

Ever since the beginning of the war, Kiev's Western allies, led by the United States, have been providing Ukraine with advanced weapons and slapping Russia with a slew of sanctions, steps that Moscow says would only prolong the war.

Source: Press TV