Russia has been secretly acquiring sensitive goods in India and explored building facilities in the country to secure components for its war effort, according to Russian state correspondence seen by the Financial Times.

Moscow’s industry and trade ministry, which oversees defence production to support Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, drew up confidential plans in October 2022 to spend about Rs82bn ($1bn at the time) on securing critical electronics through channels hidden from western governments.

The plan, revealed in letters to a shadowy trade promotion body with strong links to the Russian security services, aimed to use “significant reserves” of rupees amassed by Russian banks from booming oil sales to India. It saw India as an alternative market to source crucial goods “previously supplied from unfriendly countries”.

  • shoulderoforion@fedia.io
    352·
    2 months ago

    If the fact that India was the lone superpower openly courting Russian Gas and Oil when the rest of the world was instituting restrictions, and getting a deep discount for it, didn’t clue you in to India not playing onside, I don’t know what would have

  • ALostInquirer@lemm.eeEnglish
    251·
    2 months ago

    Covert? Isn’t India one of few countries consistently and unabashedly trading with Russia? Is this covert in the open secrets sense?

  • PugJesus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    154·
    2 months ago

    Unsurprising. India is taking advantage of the situation for all its worth, and, from a purely realpolitik standpoint, it’s hard to blame them.

      • partial_accumen@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        2 months ago

        No… it’s pretty easy

        Look into some history of India, as a sovereign nation, and how they were treated by the West for most of the 20th century. The Soviet Union was a much needed friend to India when the rest of the West turned their back after the British were kicked out. I don’t blame India for some of the continued engagement with russia. However, Ukraine was also part of the nation (Soviet Union) that helped India, and I’m not seeing weigh positively for Ukraine. I say this as an American. The West (including the USA) has done some pretty messed up stuff to other nations in the 20th century.

        • Snowflake@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          31·
          2 months ago

          There was no India before and for half the 20th century. Britain really united all those separate kingdoms into what India is. The majority of indias exports were not to Russia in the 20th century. Russia accounted for around 15% - 20% of their exports at that time.

  • wurzelgummidge@lemmy.worldEnglish
    36·
    2 months ago

    Russian state correspondence seen by the Financial Times

    So Rupert Murdoch’s gofers can read Cyrillic, eh?

  • RangerJosie@lemmy.worldEnglish
    822·
    2 months ago

    Cool? Good for them?

    It’s almost like the world doesn’t revolve around the whims of the US and other independent nations can do whatever the fuck they want.