India’s Double Game in the Russian Ukraine War

India’s Double Game in the Russian Ukraine War

When a 24 year old Indian recruit surrendered to Ukrainian troops on October 7 after just three days at the front, his story tore through New Delhi’s carefully built image of neutrality. “They told us we had to be backup drivers,” he said, “but they handed us assault rifles and pushed us into a minefield.” It was a shocking confession, yet it fit a larger pattern.

In fact, it is a picture of a country that has been quietly turning Europe’s deadliest war in generations into a business opportunity.

The India that calls itself the “mother of democracy” and a “teacher to the world” has found profit in pain, selling to both sides while preaching peace.

The Oil of Betrayal

To begin with, start with the oil. Since early 2022, India has been one of the biggest buyers of Russian crude, snapping up barrels Europe no longer wanted. In 2025 alone, it’s imported around 1.6 million barrels a day, roughly a third of its total needs. The discount has been huge and more than 20 dollars a barrel below Brent prices and saving India billions and padding government budgets right before elections.

However, that “discount” is not free. A cut of every shipment still goes back to Moscow in export duties, quietly feeding the Russian war machine. Analysts say those payments reached about $8 billion in the first eight months of this year, money that helps buy tanks, drones, and ammunition. Meanwhile, while the West tries to isolate Russia, Indian refineries are re-exporting that same crude as gasoline or diesel to Europe and the US. Therefore, while Western governments boast about sanctions, Indian traders have effectively become the middlemen keeping Russia’s oil flowing.

The Indian Components Of  War

Furthermore, it is not just oil. Investigators in Ukraine have found Indian made electronic parts in drones and missiles used against Russian troops. Chips, alloys, and wiring modules from small Indian firms are exported through European intermediaries are ending up inside weapons on the battlefield. Technically, those exports are legal, and they are sold under “civilian use” loopholes. Yet everyone knows how these systems work.

Between 2023 and 2025, India’s exports of dual use tech to Eastern Europe jumped more than threefold. Companies call it “innovation partnerships,” and diplomats describe it as “technology cooperation.” Ultimately, the result is the same that Indian made components helping power Western supplied weapons. Neutrality, it turns out, can be very flexible when there is a market for it.

Human Lives as Collateral

Moreover, there is the human side which is arguably the ugliest part. Since last year, reports have surfaced of hundreds of Indians recruited to fight in Russia’s army. Many were young men from Punjab, Haryana, and the South, promised jobs or legal status, only to find themselves dumped into combat. At least 300 have been sent to the front, and dozens are already dead or missing. Families have released desperate videos, accusing recruiters of fraud and officials of looking away.

When some of those families tried to protest outside the Russian embassy in Delhi, police pushed them back, calling it a “security concern.” Yet when Indians volunteer to fight for Ukraine, there is no crackdown. A few have even been celebrated online as symbols of solidarity. Clearly, It is a quiet double standard where condemning one kind of involvement while tolerating another because it suits diplomatic optics.

The Diplomatic Balancing Act

Meanwhile, India’s leaders keep playing the part of the peacemaker. Prime Minister Modi repeats that “this is not an era of war,” even as state banks clear payments for Russian missiles and oil deals. Western governments, eager to keep India on their side, mostly look the other way. Russia, for its part, is noticing. Commentators in Moscow have started referring to India as an “opportunistic partner” which is a polite way of saying fair weather friend.

India’s defense imports tell the story. Purchases from the US and Israel are surging, while joint projects with Russia are fading. Consequently, it is not hard to see why both sides are starting to mistrust Delhi. Washington views India as a useful partner that does not fully commit, while Moscow sees a friend who takes its money but votes against it at the UN.

The Price of “Strategic Autonomy”

In essence, India calls this approach “strategic autonomy.” In practice, it is a kind of geopolitical freelancing cutting deals wherever they pay best. Every shipment of discounted crude, every batch of dual-use parts, every migrant soldier caught in the crossfire adds up to a cold calculation profit first, principle later.

Eventually, once the war ends, India will likely position itself as the natural “reconstruction hub” for Ukraine and Russia alike, the country that never took sides, only “maintained dialogue.” But that version of the story skips over what neutrality has cost.

Because neutrality is not just about staying out of war. It is about what you choose not to see, and who you’re willing to sell to while claiming moral ground. Finally, the video from Donetsk, the young Indian soldier trembling as he recounts his ordeal feels like a breaking point. It’s not just about him, it is about what his story reveals. The myth of the neutral peacemaker doesn’t hold up when your citizens are dying on both sides of the same battlefield.

India’s role in this war is complex. It is not the villain some claim, but it is also not the honest broker it portrays itself to be.

Ultimately, somewhere between survival and self-interest, the line blurred. And when the guns finally fall silent, the world will remember who profited from the noise.