The Albanese government must stop allowing the purchase of Russian “blood oil” via refining loopholes, a group of European Union and Ukrainian organisations have declared as the war in Ukraine rages on.
Labor continues to allow the indirect purchase of Russian oil despite banning direct imports from the nation after the G7+, which includes Australia, placed an embargo on Russian oil products in February 2023.
Australia has imported more than USD$6.4 billion (AUD$9.8 billion) of oil products from three refineries in India using Russian crude between the beginning of the embargo and the end of June 2025, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
About USD$2.5 billion (AU$3.8 billion) of these oil products are estimated as being refined from Russian crude.
Australia has sent about US$1.1 billion (AU$1.7 billion) to Ukraine between the beginning of the invasion and April 2025, according to data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
The group of organisations pointed out that Australian imports of Russian oil are twice as much was what it has provided in aid to Ukraine.
“Every litre of this blood oil undermines Australia’s sanctions, strengthens Russia’s war machine, and contradicts support for Ukraine and the rules-based international order,” the letter from the group, which includes B4Ukraine, reads.
B4Ukraine is an international alliance whose goal is to cut off financial support to the Putin regime.
They estimate the indirect purchases of Russian oil has delivered USD$1.3 billion (AUD$2 billion) in tax revenue to the Kremlin, or enough to pay for more than 37,000 of Russia’s Shahed drones which are used in attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
Australia’s oil imports from the Jamnagar refinery in India, which accounts for 93 per cent of the Indian oil imports, have increased by 31 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2025.
The imports in the first half of this year are almost equal to the total imports in 2023.
Labor has launched a new inquiry into the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia which is expected to face heated scrutiny in parliament and from the Australian people.
The group called on the Albanese government to “act pre-emptively” and close the loophole to “avoid the inevitable reputational and diplomatic embarrassment that inaction would bring”.
It comes as the European Union and the United Kingdom strengthen their sanctions by banning fuels produced from Russian oil, regardless of where they are processed.
These moves are estimated to cut USD$4.5 billion (AUD$6.9 billion) in Russian oil export revenues.
“To align with European allies and ensure Australian imports do not fund aggression abroad, we call on the Government to adopt a ban guided by the following gold-standard policies attached at the end of this letter,” the group said.
Among the group’s recommendations are applying bans to refineries that use Russian oil, cracking down on documentation fraud from third-country refiners and establishing independent audits.
The letter follows US President Donald Trump last month revealing that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to stop purchasing Russian oil.
“(Mr Modi has) assured me there will be no oil purchased from Russia,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“I don’t know. Maybe that’s a breaking story. Can I say that?
“He’s not buying his oil from Russia. It started. You know, you can’t do it immediately. It’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon.”
China continues to be the largest buyer of Russian oil products, accounting for about 40 per cent of exports.
Outside India, Australia also sources it oil from Singapore, China, the United States, Thailand and Malaysia.
SkyNews.com.au has reached out to the Prime Minister’s office.