US President Donald Trump accused India and China of financing Russia’s war in Ukraine, a charge that he made on September 23, 2025, when addressing the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Speaking out, President Trump named the two countries “primary funders” of the war and bashed them for continuing to buy Russian oil and, in the process, propping up the military offensive against Ukraine.
Coming down hard on his European and NATO allies, he fumed that they were not going far enough in reducing energy imports and stressed, “China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil,” adding that he could enforce yet more crippling sanctions and duties to kick-start a settlement of the crisis, including the 50% tariffs on Indian goods.
Last week the Trump administration slapped a 25 percent additional duty on Indian goods which brought the rate to 50% of all Indian goods imported to the States, and didn’t hold back any punches when warning that he’ll apply even more economic measures to Russia if his European allies join in curtailing their purchases.
India and China have batted back at the criticism, fending off claims of violation of international norms. Indian diplomats snarkily asked the US about its own hypocrisy, how Western nations were pumping billions into Russia’s economy. The war-torn Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stepped forward, saying that India and Russia have oil deals, yes, but India is still supporting the Ukrainian position.
