Trump: India Will Stop Buying Russian Oil Until Ukraine War Ends

India has promised to stop buying Russian oil, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday.

Trump made the announcement to reporters in the Oval Office. The promise made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a key victory for Trump in his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

“I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big step. Now we’re going to get China to do the same thing,” Trump told reporters.

WATCH:

.@POTUS: Indian Prime Minister Modi “has assured me there will be NO OIL purchased from Russia.” pic.twitter.com/aJpeEss9YK

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 15, 2025

In recent months, Trump has shifted from pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate to applying pressure more directly to Putin. The U.S. President has worked through diplomacy, sanctions, and strengthening Ukraine’s military position to increase pressure on Moscow to seek an end to the roughly three-and-a-half year war.

“He’s assured me that there will be no oil purchased from Russia, maybe that’s a breaking story, can I say that? Would you say?” Trump asked. “There will be no oil, he’s not buying his oil from Russia — it’s started.”

“You know, he can’t do it immediately. It’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over soon. All we want from President [Vladimir] Putin is to stop this, stop killing Ukrainians and stop killing Russians,” said Trump.

“Who would think I created peace in the Middle East and can’t get the two guys to settle?” he added. “But I think we’ll get them. If India doesn’t buy oil, it makes it much easier. And they assured me, within a short period of time, they will not be buying oil from Russia. And they’ll go back to Russia after the war is over.”

Once confirmed, Modi’s decision to cut off India’s purchase of Russian oil, at least for the duration of the war, would be a major stroke for Trump and a meaningful improvement in U.S.-India relations. In August, Trump slapped 50% tariffs on India. Half of the tariff sought to punish India for purchases it made from Russia.

At the time, New Delhi gave no signal that it would cut off purchasing oil from Russia, other than to say that it would continue to look for the “best deal.”

Trump is scheduled to meet with Zelensky at the White House on Friday. The visit will be Zelensky’s third to the White House since Trump began his second term. The meeting is expected to cover the potential provision of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, as well as air defense to protect from Russian drones and missiles.