The European Union's latest effort to restrict Russia's oil revenue is unlikely to hurt Moscow's war effort severely, leaving U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of secondary sanctions one of the few remaining economic levers to pressure the Kremlin.

The EU's recent 18th sanctions package against Russia has begun to disrupt fuel exports from Indian refiner Nayara Energy, a major customer of Russian crude, leading to altered payment terms and canceled tanker bookings.

Indian oil imports from Russia rose marginally during the first half of 2025 --- with nearly 35% of overall supplies coming from the country. Private refiners such as Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy made up approximately half of the purchases from Moscow.

Iran schedules diplomatic meetings with Russia, China and European nations as the deadline approaches for a new nuclear deal to avoid the reimposition of U.N. Security Council sanctions.

The European Union and Britain are ramping up pressure on Russia over its war on Ukraine. The EU has introduced new sanctions to deprive Moscow of energy revenue through a lower oil price cap and a ban on transactions with Nord Stream gas pipelines.

The European Union agreed to block attempts to revive the Nord Stream gas pipelines and lower a price cap for Russian oil sales, among other measures.

Private refineries stopped in China are getting a second life in the hope of getting Russian oil at a discount after the introduction of new sanctions The EU and the reduction of the price ceiling from $ 60 to $ 47.

The Kremlin is sticking to its war demands, even as President Trump makes new threats of sanctions that would go into effect if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a ceasefire with

Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, on Sunday slammed European Union sanctions on India's Nayara Energy refinery as unjustified and illegal, saying the restrictions directly threatened India's energy security.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War noted that cooperation with China has allowed Russia to bypass Western sanctions on imports of electronics for drone production. Ukraine’s military intelligence estimates that Russia receives up to 65% of components for its Geran drones from China. Beijing rejects the claims.