Russia has suffered a major economic setback, after China and India halted their purchases of Kremlin oil. Oil and gas revenues are vital sources of revenue, accounting for between a third and half of Russia 's federal budget over the last decade. In particular, these revenues play a key role in helping Putin to finance his war in Ukraine.

The latest U.S. sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas sector have raised the cost of chartering tankers not under restrictions so significantly that trade with China and India for delivery in March has stalled,

Trade for March-loading Russian oil in top buyer Asia has stalled as a wide price gap between buyers and sellers emerged in China after costs for chartering tankers unaffected by U.S. sanctions jumped,

Russia is sending cargoes of sanctioned oil to India on tankers that have been blacklisted by the US Treasury — setting up an acid test of Moscow's ability to get around aggressive measures imposed by Washington earlier this month.

In China, there is a lack of interest in March deliveries of oil from Russia following the imposition of new American sanctions on the Russian "shadow fleet", which have led to increased tanker transport costs not covered by these sanctions,

Russia has continued to send cargoes of crude oil to India on tankers that have been sanctioned by the US, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. This situation presents a crucial test of Moscow’s ability to circumvent the stringent sanctions implemented by Washington earlier this month.

In China, there are no buyers for March deliveries of oil from Russia after new American sanctions on Russia's "shadow fleet" led to increased tanker transport costs, which were not covered by these sanctions,

As reported by Reuters, these sanctions have already had tangible effects. The main recipients of Russian oil, China and India, have suspended purchases from Russia because the de

China and India have stopped trading in Russian oil as US sanctions have caused a sharp rise in tariffs for tanker freight. Source: Reuters Details: According to traders and shipping companies, the trade in Russian oil that was loaded in March has stopped in Asia as a large price gap between buyers and sellers has emerged in China.