We all knows that Bharat’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, was in Russia. But this was not just another diplomatic visit. His visit to Moscow comes at a particularly important time, when Russia is facing intense pressure from the Ukraine war, while Bharat-Russia relations are becoming increasingly important for Bharat’s strategic and economic interests.
At the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin personally welcomed Bharat’s External Affairs Minister.
One particular moment from the meeting caught attention. Dr. Jaishankar asked Putin, “I hope you are keeping well. I hope everything is going well here.” Putin simply responded with a thumbs-up.
And honestly, that thumbs-up tells you something about the situation Russia is currently facing.
The past week has been extremely difficult for Russia. Ukraine has launched drone attacks on several occasions, with some nights reportedly seeing attacks involving as many as 600 drones and others around 400 drones.
Ukrainian drones have repeatedly targeted areas around Russia’s capital. There have been explosions, and civilians have also been killed.
Take Ozon, for example. Just as Bharat has Amazon and Flipkart, Ozon is one of Russia’s major e-commerce companies. One of its warehouse hubs was attacked by Ukrainian drones, resulting in Russian civilians being killed and many others seriously injured.
It is therefore not difficult to understand why there is a sense of fear and uncertainty in Moscow. And in such an environment, Putin’s message is simple: Russia is still functioning, and everything is under control.
North Korea has also sent military support to Russia. North Korean forces are involved in supporting Russia, while drones and missile capabilities are also becoming part of this wider military cooperation.
That is precisely why Dr. Jaishankar’s presence in Moscow matters. Why Russia Could Become Even More Important for Bharat in 2027 As we move closer to 2027, Russia’s importance for Bharat is likely to increase further.
The first thing that naturally comes to mind is crude oil.
Oil is certainly an important part of the relationship and discussed more, and Bharat is currently purchasing more Russian oil than it has in previous years.
If you look at the monthly barrels-per-day figures, the scale of Bharat’s Russian oil purchases today is significantly higher than what we saw in 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025.
The figure has already crossed 2.5 million barrels per day. In other words, Bharat has never purchased Russian oil at this scale before.
And this is happening at a very interesting moment.
The United States has threatened to impose a 100% tariff on Bharat and China if both countries continue purchasing Russian oil.
That is one issue. But we need to understand the relationship between Bharat and Russia is much larger than oil. Overall Bharat-Russia trade has also increased by around 8% to 10% compared with the previous year.
Dr. Jaishankar has also said, if the current momentum continues, Bharat-Russia trade could reach $100 billion by 2030 and this is a significant number.
And frankly, even if pressure or threats come from the United States, I believe Bharat will continue maintaining large-scale economic engagement with Russia.
One major reason is simple, 2027 could be a very challenging year.
The Fertiliser Question.
This is where another important part of the Putin-Jaishankar discussion comes in, fertilisers.
Putin has given Bharat an important assurance that Russia will continue supplying fertilisers to Bharat’s farmers.
The message from the Russian side was clear,
“This is very important for Bharat’s farmers and Bharat’s agriculture. We are expanding the supply, and we are ready to continue to expand it. We are also ready to expand nuclear power and high-tech cooperation.”
The fertiliser issue may actually become much more important as we move towards 2027. There are already reports and warnings suggesting that the world could face a serious food-supply problem in the coming years.
JPMorgan has warned about the possibility of a fertiliser crisis in 2027. El Nino is another separate risk, but the fertiliser problem itself deserves attention.
A significant portion of global urea production has historically come from the Middle East. Around 42% of the world’s urea supply was linked to Middle Eastern producers.
Many countries in the region are now dealing with war and instability, while several production facilities have also been damaged.
This is where Russia becomes particularly important. If Ukraine were to successfully destroy Russian urea production facilities as well, the consequences could be much bigger. We could potentially see a global fertiliser shortage, which could eventually translate into a global food shortage lasting for several years.
For now, however, Russia appears to be becoming increasingly effective at intercepting Ukrainian drone attacks.
Bharat will therefore hope that Russia can continue supplying urea and other agricultural fertilisers on a large scale through the end of 2026 and into 2027. If that happens, Bharat-Russia trade could potentially reach an all-time high.
Three Important Meetings Between Modi ji and Putin
There is another interesting aspect of the current engagement. Dr. Jaishankar has referred to three important platforms where Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and Vladimir Putin are expected to meet.
He said;
“This year, Prime Minister Modi ji looks forward to meeting you at the SCO Summit, then welcoming you in Bharat for the BRICS Summit and, in due course, as per your mutual convenience, having the annual summit.”
The first is the SCO Summit – the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. In 2026, the summit is expected to be hosted by Kyrgyzstan. If both Putin and Modi ji attend, the two leaders will have another opportunity to meet there. Shehbaz Sharif and potentially Xi Jinping could also be present.
After that comes the BRICS Summit, which Bharat will host. At this stage, there is no confirmation about whether Xi Jinping will travel to Bharat. Putin’s participation, however, appears much more likely. That means Putin and Modi ji could once again meet in Bharat.
And then there is the annual Bharat-Russia summit, which takes place separately.
So, potentially, there could be three important Modi ji-Putin meetings in 2026 alone. That gives you an idea of how significant the relationship is becoming.
Nuclear Power: The Next Big Area of Cooperation
The relationship is not only about oil and fertilisers.
Nuclear power could become one of the biggest areas of Bharat-Russia cooperation in the coming years. Russia is extremely interested in Bharat’s nuclear energy sector.
If Russia establishes a long-term and permanent presence in Bharat’s nuclear power industry, the economic relationship could become much deeper. Russia has also indicated that Bharat could begin producing nuclear fuel locally for smaller reactors.
At the same time, there is discussion about setting up smaller nuclear reactor units in Bharat on a larger scale. The Russian side has pointed to the successful cooperation at Kudankulam and the possibility of expanding that cooperation.
Russia said:
“We have a positive experience of cooperation in the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam. It also expands the area of our cooperation significantly. We are discussing the launch of smaller-capacity units of new power plants in Bharat.”
This could potentially be a game changer. Think about Bharat’s smaller cities and emerging industrial centres.
Suppose a major industrial or infrastructure project is being developed in a relatively small city. Such a project can suddenly create a huge demand for electricity. Large conventional power projects are not always the easiest solution for every location. Smaller nuclear power units could potentially provide another option.
This is why nuclear energy could become a major pillar of Bharat-Russia cooperation.
Why Russia Needs Bharat
There is also a very simple geopolitical reason behind Russia’s growing engagement with Bharat. Russia’s relationship with many Western countries has deteriorated dramatically.
The doors of the United States, Western Europe and Japan are largely closed to Russia. That leaves Russia with only a few major strategic partners.
Two of the most important are China and Bharat.
But Russia does not want to become completely dependent on China. Bharat therefore becomes extremely important. This is why the coming meetings between Putin and Modi ji will not simply be about oil.
They will be about identifying new areas where Bharat and Russia can cooperate, from energy and fertilisers to nuclear power, technology, defence and other strategic sectors.
Will the United States Respond?
There is, however, another side to this story.
The sudden increase in Russian oil purchases by Bharat is unlikely to go unnoticed in Washington. The Americans will certainly respond in some way.
Whether that response comes through a 100% tariff or through some other form of economic and diplomatic pressure remains to be seen. But it would be unrealistic to assume that the United States will simply sit quietly while Bharat continues purchasing Russian oil at record levels.
Bharat has already broken previous records in Russian oil purchases. So, something bigger could happen in the coming period, and whatever happens could have a direct impact on Bharat.
That is why the Putin-Jaishankar meeting is important.
This is not simply another diplomatic visit.
It comes at a time when Russia needs Bharat, Bharat needs Russia, and both countries are trying to expand their relationship across multiple strategic areas.
And as we move towards 2027, the importance of this relationship could become even greater.
The world is changing. Bharat must be ready. Jai Hind! 🇮🇳