Indian refiners, including Reliance Industries began reassessing their Russian oil trade as the United States announced new sanctions against Russia’s two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. The move aimed to increase pressure on Moscow to engage in peace talks with Ukraine while tightening the global sanctions landscape that Indian refiners must navigate.

Reliance, which is India’s largest buyer of Russian crude, adjusted its imports to remain aligned with government guidelines, balancing commercial interests with geopolitical sensitivities, according to a report by Reuters. A Reliance spokesperson told Reuters, “Recalibration of Russian oil imports is ongoing, and Reliance will be fully aligned to GOI (Government of India) guidelines on the extent of recalibration.”

Reliance shares were slightly lower at Rs 1,460.20, down 0.34 per cent at 2:27 PM IST.

The new sanctions came a day after US President Donald Trump said his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest would be postponed. “Every time I speak to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they don't go anywhere,” Trump said.

While experts said the sanctions might not cause major economic harm to Russia, they reflected a shift in Trump’s foreign policy. Until now, he had avoided imposing sanctions, saying he would wait until European countries stopped buying Russian oil. The Kremlin responded by claiming Russia was “immune” to the measures.

Trump had long warned Moscow of tougher action but avoided implementing it, hoping he could personally broker a peace deal in the three-and-a-half-year invasion. His administration had tried to present the US as a neutral mediator between Russia and Ukraine, unlike the pro-Ukraine stance of former president Joe Biden. But Trump had grown increasingly frustrated with the Kremlin’s unwillingness to move forward in talks.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had urged Washington for months to take this step. He called the sanctions a “good signal” and said a ceasefire could be possible if other countries also increased pressure on Russia.

On Wednesday, Trump criticised Putin for not being serious about peace and said he hoped the sanctions would help create a breakthrough. “I just felt it was time. We waited a long time,” he said. He described the sanctions package as “tremendous” and added that it could be lifted quickly if Russia agreed to stop the war.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “Given President Putin's refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia's two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin's war machine. We encourage our allies to join us and adhere to these sanctions.”

Oil and gas remain Russia’s biggest sources of revenue. Together, Rosneft and Lukoil export around 3.1 million barrels of oil per day, with Rosneft alone accounting for nearly half of all Russian oil production, which represents about 6 per cent of global output according to UK government data. Russia’s major buyers include China, India, and Turkey. Trump has called on these countries to stop purchasing Russian oil to tighten financial pressure on Moscow.

In recent months, Ukraine has been targeting Russian oil refineries and energy facilities to weaken its economy. Zelensky visited the White House last Friday to request long-range Tomahawk missiles capable of striking inside Russia, but did not receive approval.

The day before, Trump had said he planned to meet Putin in Hungary after an unexpected phone call from him. However, after talks between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the meeting was paused, with Trump saying he did not want a “wasted meeting.” He later explained that he refused to send missiles to Ukraine because they were “highly complex” and needed a year of training to operate. Zelensky suggested that Trump might change his mind later, just as he did with the sanctions.

Meanwhile, fighting continued overnight, with strikes on Kyiv killing at least two people, officials said. Earlier that day, Russian bombardments killed at least seven people, including children.

Last week, the UK also sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said, “There is no place for Russian oil on global markets.” In response, Russia’s embassy in London warned that targeting its major energy firms would disrupt global fuel supplies and raise costs worldwide. It said, “Pressure only complicates peaceful dialogue and leads to further escalation.”

Europe’s dependence on Russian energy has fallen sharply since the start of the war, though Russian gas still makes up about 13 per cent of EU imports. The bloc has pledged to phase it out completely. Trump had earlier said he would only impose sanctions once Europe stopped buying Russian energy.

On Wednesday, EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen welcomed the new EU sanctions, which included a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports by 2028. She said the coordinated EU and US measures were “a clear signal from both sides of the Atlantic that we will keep up collective pressure on the aggressor.”

Earlier this year, both the US and UK had already sanctioned Russian energy companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas. Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, who was at the White House when the latest sanctions were announced, praised the decision for “putting more pressure” on Putin. Rutte is expected to discuss a 12-point plan developed by European allies and Kyiv that proposed freezing front lines, returning deported children, arranging prisoner swaps, creating a recovery fund for Ukraine, offering long-term security guarantees, and providing a clear path for Ukraine to join the European Union.

Trump said one of the biggest challenges was Moscow’s refusal to halt fighting along the current front line, a move supported by Zelensky. The Kremlin rejected the idea, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov insisting that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from parts of the Donbas region still under Kyiv’s control.

The sanctions have made Indian refiners more cautious about sourcing Russian crude, ensuring no shipments come directly from Rosneft or Lukoil. Trump’s announcement also pushed Brent crude futures above 64 dollars per barrel, rising more than 2 dollars.

Earlier, Trump had imposed a 25 per cent additional tariff on Indian imports in response to New Delhi’s continued purchase of discounted Russian oil, bringing total tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent.

Reliance’s recalibration illustrated how Indian refiners were adjusting to a tightening global sanctions environment while balancing commercial interests and geopolitical priorities.