From Oil to Arms: How America Profits While Pointing Fingers at Bharat

Paromita Das

New Delhi, 23rd August: “Bharat is fueling Russia’s war machine,” “Bharat is profiteering from the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” “Bharat is cozying up to Moscow”—these are just some of the loud accusations hurled from the Trump administration against New Delhi. At the heart of this rhetoric lies Bharat’s purchase of discounted Russian oil, which it refines and resells, including to European nations that imposed sanctions on Russia. Yet what Washington presents as an act of betrayal is, in fact, an act of global stabilization. By keeping oil supplies steady, Bharat has prevented the world from spiraling into an energy crisis. Ironically, the very country accusing Bharat—America—has quietly become the biggest profiteer of the war.

Bharat’s Energy Strategy: Stability, Not Subversion

Before the Ukraine war, Russian oil accounted for less than 1% of Bharat’s imports. Today, that figure has risen sharply to over 40%, not because Bharat is scheming to undermine the West, but because New Delhi’s foremost duty is to secure affordable energy for its 1.4 billion citizens. Moreover, under EU regulation, refined petroleum ceases to be classified as “Russian.” Bharat is therefore not breaching sanctions but lawfully re-exporting its refined products.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, however, accused Bharat of making “$16 billion in excess profits.” This figure conveniently ignores the very purpose of the G7’s $60-per-barrel price cap—to keep Russian oil flowing without enriching Moscow. If Bharat had not stepped in as a buyer, oil prices would have skyrocketed, hurting both developed and developing economies.

The U.S. Profiteering Playbook

While Bharat is vilified, the U.S. has turned the war into a profit machine. American oil and gas giants like Chevron and ExxonMobil registered record profits in 2022, with revenues soaring 125% compared to pre-war levels. The U.S. LNG industry in particular has thrived, filling the void left by Russian gas in Europe. By 2023, the U.S. became Europe’s largest LNG supplier, accounting for nearly half of its imports—at prices often four times higher than U.S. domestic rates.

French President Emmanuel Macron bluntly called out this opportunism, accusing Washington of exploiting the crisis by charging inflated rates. EU officials, too, admitted that the U.S. was “the country most profiting from this war.”

But the profiteering does not stop at energy. America has also transformed Ukraine’s tragedy into a boon for its defense industry. With over $19 billion in military equipment sent to Kyiv, companies like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have seen their stock values surge. The U.S. Congress openly boasts that 64% of its Ukraine-related defense spending goes directly into rejuvenating America’s defense industry.

Trade with Moscow: U.S. Hypocrisy Laid Bare

Even as Trump officials berate Bharat for buying Russian crude, U.S. trade with Russia continues in full swing. Since 2022, America has imported over $24.5 billion worth of Russian goods—uranium, palladium, fertilizers, and even machinery. In 2024 alone, U.S. purchases included $1.27 billion in fertilizers and $624 million in nuclear materials. If trading with Russia is such a sin, why is Washington itself doing it?

The hypocrisy deepens when one considers that China, not Bharat, is the largest buyer of Russian oil. Yet Trump’s administration has curiously muted its criticism of Beijing while directing its ire at New Delhi. Clearly, Bharat is being scapegoated not for its actions, but for its refusal to bend to America’s coercive trade tactics.

Why Bharat Refuses to Bow

Unlike the EU, which capitulated to Trump’s tariff threats by signing a one-sided trade deal in July 2025, Bharat has stood its ground. New Delhi has resisted U.S. attempts to dictate whom it should trade with, refused to open its markets on Washington’s terms, and certainly did not indulge Trump’s ego with Nobel Prize nominations or public credit for the Bharat-Pakistan ceasefire.

This refusal to genuflect has made Bharat a target. By painting Bharat as a villain, Trump seeks to justify tariffs, penalties, and pressure tactics, hoping New Delhi will eventually fold. But Bharat’s resilience signals something different: a shift in the global balance, where emerging powers no longer dance to Washington’s tune.

The Real Profiteer of War

The narrative of Bharat as a profiteer is not just misleading—it is deliberately deceitful. By keeping energy flowing, Bharat has actually cushioned global markets from a devastating supply shock. The U.S., meanwhile, has shamelessly monetized both energy and arms sales, all while claiming moral high ground. Washington has turned chaos into a ladder—climbing higher in energy dominance, strengthening its defense economy, and extracting concessions from allies under duress.

If profiteering is the crime, then America, not Bharat, is the chief culprit.

Calling Out the Double Standards

The Trump administration’s rhetoric against Bharat reveals more about Washington’s insecurity than about New Delhi’s policies. America wants Bharat to choose loyalty to Washington over loyalty to its people. But Bharat’s stance is clear: it will buy where it must, sell where it can, and always priorities its national interest.

By demonizing Bharat while enriching itself from the same war, the U.S. exposes its double standards. The truth is, Bharat has kept the world’s energy arteries open while Washington has fattened its pockets. As global politics reshapes itself, New Delhi’s defiance may well mark the beginning of a new era—one where the Global South refuses to be bullied by Western hypocrisy.