India imported 50 percent more seaborne Russian crude in December compared to China, and nine times more than the European Union, according to shipping data firm Vortexa.
This marks the first time that India's imports of Russian crude have exceeded China's, with the latter decreasing by 27 percent to 770,000 barrels per day in December.
This shift in imports coincides with the G7 price cap on Russian imports, which went into effect on December 5.
As per the data compiled by Vortexa, one in every four barrels of crude imported by India in December came from Russia.
Russia remained India's top crude supplier for the third consecutive month in December, with a record 1.17 million barrels per day (mbd) of crude shipped to the country, a 24% increase from the previous month. This was aided by a significant rise in imports by private sector refiners, energy shipping data revealed.
According to government data, India's imports of crude oil from Iraq and the United Arab Emirates decreased slightly, while imports from Saudi Arabia increased. Meanwhile, crude oil exports from the US to India declined by 20 percent.
India has been defending its decision to increase its imports of Russian crude oil amid the Ukrainian crisis, stating that it is the government's fundamental duty to provide affordable energy to its 1.3 billion citizens, who have a per capita income of $2000.
On Tuesday, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar accused Europe of driving up global oil prices by stockpiling crude from the Middle East, which is the primary supplier of India's energy needs.