A top aide to Donald Trump accused India of financing Russia’s war in Ukraine by purchasing oil from Moscow.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said the US president had made it clear that it was “not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia”.
“People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That’s an astonishing fact,” Mr Miller told Fox News, ramping up pressure on New Delhi over its ties with Moscow.
Mr Trump, meanwhile, said his special envoy Steve Witkoff could travel to Russia this week as the US readied sanctions on Moscow if president Vladimir Putin did not agree to a ceasefire before Friday.
As the war continued, over 100 firefighters rushed to tackle a blaze at an oil depot in Sochi, Russia, after Ukraine launched an overnight drone attack on Sunday.