A top White House aide to U.S. President Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, sparked controversy on August 3 by accusing India of indirectly financing Russia’s war in Ukraine through its Russian oil imports. Miller noted that India is now nearly tied with China as one of Moscow’s key oil customers and declared it “not acceptable” for India to keep these purchases going. The strong rhetoric comes as Trump has ramped up pressure on New Delhi, recently imposing a 25% tariff on Indian exports to the U.S. and threatening even tougher sanctions if India doesn’t curb Russian trade. Despite the criticism, Indian officials and trade data show India continues to buy oil from multiple countries based on best market prices, while also increasing purchases from the U.S. The U.S. stance has drawn attention to European allies like Slovakia and Hungary, who are themselves resisting EU efforts to fully phase out Russian energy by 2027. India, for its part, argues its energy policies are determined by national interest and market conditions, a position repeatedly stated by Foreign Minister Jaishankar, who has also highlighted that European nations collectively purchase more Russian energy than India.