War Balance
Russian oil through the back door: who bought fuel refined from Russian crude?
Diesel and jet fuel refined from Russian crude in India, Türkiye, China, the United Arab Emirates or EU refineries reach buyers elsewhere. For each buying country this page counts what Russia kept on the crude inside that fuel, against the pre-war level, from 2022 to August 2026. The table starts with Australia (€2bn more for Russia); where buyers took less of it than before the war, Russia kept less.
These numbers measure money: aid to Ukraine and the change in what Russia keeps from trade, against a world without the war. Weapons count at their money value: aid at market value when delivered, weapons and troops sent to Russia at the seller's gain where Russia paid and in full where it did not. Votes, diplomacy and intent are not in them.
Ranking · 30
Sorted by “Russian oil bought via other countries” in euros, from the Russia side to the Ukraine side, 2022 to August 2026. + toward Ukraine, − toward Russia; more or less: how much more or less Russia kept (taxes and profit, not sales) than in a world without the war.
| # | Country | Russian oil bought via other countries | Russia kept from trade, vs no war | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | −€2bn−0.13% of GDP · −€74 per personrange −€2.8bn to −€1.1bn | €1.9bn more0.12% of GDP morevery likely · >99% | −€0.61bn−0.04% of GDPessentially zero |
| 2 | South Africa | −€1.7bn−0.47% of GDP · −€27 per personrange −€2.4bn to −€1.1bn | €1.8bn more0.49% of GDP morevery likely · >99% | −€1.8bn−0.49% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates | −€1.6bn−0.32% of GDP · −€144 per personrange −€3.5bn to −€21m | €3.6bn more0.72% of GDP morelikely toward Russia · 97% | −€3.5bn−0.71% of GDPlikely toward Russia · 97% |
| 4 | United States | −€1.5bn<0.01% of GDP · −€4 per personrange −€2.5bn to −€0.58bn | €47.4bn less0.18% of GDP lessvery likely · >99% | +€132bn+0.51% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 5 | Greece | −€1.2bn−0.56% of GDP · −€120 per personrange −€2.2bn to −€0.28bn | €1.6bn more0.70% of GDP morelikely toward Russia · 69% | +€0.18bn+0.08% of GDPessentially zero |
| 6 | Nepal | −€0.96bn−2.5% of GDP · −€32 per personrange −€1.4bn to −€0.56bn | €0.95bn more2.4% of GDP morevery likely · >99% | −€0.97bn−2.5% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 7 | Bangladesh | −€0.90bn−0.22% of GDP · −€5 per personrange −€1.3bn to −€0.50bn | €53m more0.01% of GDP moreessentially zero | −€61m−0.01% of GDPessentially zero |
| 8 | Oman | −€0.79bn−0.78% of GDP · −€149 per personrange −€1.4bn to −€0.35bn | €1.4bn more1.4% of GDP morevery likely · >99% | −€1.4bn−1.4% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 9 | Malaysia | −€0.73bn−0.19% of GDP · −€20 per personrange −€2.3bn to +€0.27bn | €2.5bn more0.65% of GDP morevery likely · 99% | −€2.5bn−0.64% of GDPvery likely · 99% |
| 10 | Singapore | −€0.69bn−0.14% of GDP · −€114 per personrange −€2.9bn to +€1.4bn | €2.2bn more0.44% of GDP morelikely toward Russia · 78% | −€2bn−0.41% of GDPlikely toward Russia · 75% |
| 11 | Romania | −€0.68bn−0.21% of GDP · −€36 per personrange −€1.5bn to −€0.11bn | €6.7bn less2.1% of GDP lessvery likely · 96% | +€8.9bn+2.8% of GDPvery likely · 99% |
| 12 | France | −€0.65bn−0.02% of GDP · −€10 per personrange −€1.4bn to +€92m | €20.2bn less0.72% of GDP lesslikely toward Ukraine · 94% | +€43.6bn+1.6% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 13 | China | −€0.65bn<0.01% of GDP · <€1 per personrange −€1.6bn to −€0.11bn | €128bn more0.74% of GDP morevery likely · >99% | −€128bn−0.75% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 14 | Italy | −€0.60bn−0.03% of GDP · −€10 per personrange −€1.3bn to +€65m | €18.8bn less0.89% of GDP lesslikely toward Ukraine · 91% | +€34.4bn+1.6% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 15 | Tanzania | −€0.57bn−0.78% of GDP · −€8 per personrange −€0.79bn to −€0.33bn | €0.82bn more1.1% of GDP morevery likely · >99% | −€0.82bn−1.1% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 16 | Iraq | −€0.57bn−0.22% of GDP · −€12 per personrange −€1.2bn to −€0.17bn | €0.51bn more0.20% of GDP morelikely toward Russia · 94% | −€0.57bn−0.22% of GDPvery likely · 96% |
| 17 | Israel | −€0.45bn−0.09% of GDP · −€45 per personrange −€0.84bn to −€0.17bn | €0.14bn more0.03% of GDP moreessentially zero | +€1m<0.01% of GDPessentially zero |
| 18 | Indonesia | −€0.45bn−0.04% of GDP · −€2 per personrange −€1.6bn to +€0.29bn | €2.5bn more0.20% of GDP morevery likely · >99% | −€2.6bn−0.20% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 19 | Hong Kong | −€0.41bn−0.11% of GDP · −€54 per personrange −€1.9bn to +€0.72bn | €5.7bn more1.6% of GDP morelikely toward Russia · 97% | −€5.8bn−1.6% of GDPlikely toward Russia · 97% |
| 20 | Sri Lanka | −€0.36bn−0.45% of GDP · −€16 per personrange −€0.50bn to −€0.22bn | €0.69bn more0.86% of GDP morevery likely · >99% | −€0.70bn−0.87% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 21 | Brazil | −€0.29bn−0.01% of GDP · −€1 per personrange −€0.76bn to −€14m | €10.1bn more0.51% of GDP morevery likely · >99% | −€10.1bn−0.51% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 22 | Kenya | −€0.29bn−0.27% of GDP · −€5 per personrange −€0.51bn to −€75m | €0.32bn more0.30% of GDP morelikely toward Russia · 89% | −€0.33bn−0.31% of GDPlikely toward Russia · 90% |
| 23 | South Korea | −€0.28bn−0.02% of GDP · −€5 per personrange −€1.1bn to +€0.25bn | €17.2bn less1.0% of GDP lessvery likely · 99% | +€18.1bn+1.1% of GDPvery likely · 99% |
| 24 | Vietnam | −€0.27bn−0.07% of GDP · −€3 per personrange −€0.70bn to +€62m | €0.13bn more0.03% of GDP moreessentially zero | −€0.10bn−0.03% of GDPessentially zero |
| 25 | Japan | −€0.21bn<0.01% of GDP · −€2 per personrange −€0.64bn to +€57m | €6.5bn less0.16% of GDP lessnear zero · 94% toward Ukraine | +€12.2bn+0.30% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 26 | Egypt | −€0.21bn−0.05% of GDP · −€2 per personrange −€0.58bn to +€96m | €1.8bn more0.45% of GDP morevery likely · 95% | −€1.7bn−0.43% of GDPlikely toward Russia · 95% |
| 27 | New Zealand | −€0.20bn−0.09% of GDP · −€38 per personrange −€0.28bn to −€0.12bn | €1m more<0.01% of GDPessentially zero | +€0.13bn+0.05% of GDPessentially zero |
| 28 | Switzerland | −€0.20bn−0.02% of GDP · −€22 per personrange −€0.40bn to −€81m | €1.6bn more0.18% of GDP morelikely toward Russia · 86% | +€8.7bn+1.0% of GDPvery likely · >99% |
| 29 | Jordan | −€0.19bn−0.36% of GDP · −€16 per personrange −€0.33bn to −€86m | €0.18bn more0.34% of GDP morevery likely · 96% | −€0.18bn−0.35% of GDPvery likely · 97% |
| 30 | Albania | −€0.17bn−0.81% of GDP · −€74 per personrange −€0.30bn to −€59m | €4m more0.02% of GDP moreessentially zero | +€16m+0.07% of GDPessentially zero |
Each row: the best estimate, then its range in the same unit and sign. The chances of the direction are for each country's totals, on its page.
Party to the war (with Russia), not ranked
- Belarus: Russian oil bought via other countries −€5m
- North Korea: Russian oil bought via other countries −€3m
Questions
Does Europe still buy Russian oil through India?
Some, as fuel refined from Russian crude in India, Türkiye and elsewhere, until the EU's ban of 21 January 2026 on fuel made from Russian crude. Here such fuel counts for the buyer at what Russia kept on the crude inside it, against the pre-war level; each European country's page gives its own line.
Is this legal?
Mostly, until the EU's 2026 ban. The page measures money, not legality.
Related
Ranking · Support for Ukraine by country · Trade with Russia by country · All topics · How it works
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Cite as: War Balance, figures to August 2026, https://warbalance.org/russian-oil-via-third-countries/