Trump aide calls Russia-Ukraine conflict ‘Modi’s war’ as US-India relationship continues to break down

US president Donald Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro, seemed to blame India for the war in Ukraine as he labelled the Russia-Ukraine conflict as Indian prime minister Narendra “Modi’s war”.

The Trump aide claimed that India’s ongoing purchases of Russian oil were “funding the war machine”.

His remarks came just hours after the US implemented 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods on Wednesday, including a 25 per cent penalty for purchasing Russian weapons and oil, which Washington says helps finance Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Mr Navarro said: “Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing. Consumers, businesses and workers lose because India’s high tariffs cost us jobs, factories and income. And then the taxpayers lose because we’ve got to fund Modi’s war.”

He added: “The road to peace runs at least partly right through New Delhi.”

When the journalist said, “You mean Putin’s war?” Mr Navarro was quick to correct: “Modi’s war.”

He argued that by buying discounted Russian oil, India indirectly supports Russia while harming the US, which must then fund Ukraine’s war effort.

Mr Navarro added: “Look, it’s really easy. India can get 25 per cent off tomorrow if it stops buying Russian oil.”

India has condemned the 50 per cent tariffs as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”, insisting it will continue buying Russian oil to secure the “best deal” for its 1.4 billion citizens despite US threats.

While Russia now supplies 35–40 per cent of India’s crude, up from under 2 per cent before February 2022, New Delhi has also stated that the US has not applied similar tariffs to China, the EU, or other major Russian oil importers.

During the interview, Mr Navarro said: “What’s troubling to me is that the Indians are so arrogant about this. They say, ‘Oh, we don’t have higher tariffs. Oh, it’s our sovereignty. We can buy oil from anyone we want.’ India, you’re the biggest democracy in the world, okay, act like one.”

The 50 per cent tariffs, the highest reciprocal duties in Asia, affect over 55 per cent of Indian exports to the US, its largest trading partner. While electronics and pharmaceuticals are currently exempt, labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and jewellery face the brunt of the impact.

Earlier, Mr Trump had also slammed India’s trade policies on Truth Social. He cited the US’s large trade deficit with India, linked its purchases of Russian military equipment and energy to the Ukraine war, and criticised Indian tariffs and trade barriers as among the world’s most “strenuous and obnoxious”.

Last month, he wrote on the social media platform: “They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE – ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!

“INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!”

He then added another post. “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.

“We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way,” he wrote.

Meanwhile Russian news agency, TASS, quoted Vinay Kumar, Delhi’s Ambassador to Moscow, as saying: “We have clearly stated that our objective is the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India, and India’s cooperation with Russia, as with several other countries, has helped to bring about stability in the global oil market.”

Earlier this month, Stephen Miller, another Trump aide, also accused India of funding Russia’s war in Ukraine by buying Russian oil, calling it “astonishing” that India ranks alongside China in such purchases.

His remarks came amid US pressure on Delhi to halt imports. “What he [Trump] said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia,” Mr Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House, said.

“People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That’s an astonishing fact,” he said on Fox News.

Meanwhile, China has criticised the US for using tariffs as “a bargaining chip to demand exorbitant prices from various countries” despite getting benefits from free trade.

Earlier, China’s envoy to India, Xu Feihong, said: “The United States has imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on India and it has even threatened for more. China firmly opposes this.

“China will firmly stand with India to uphold the multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organisation at its core.

“In the face of such acts, silence or compromise only emboldens the bully,” he said.