New US ambassador to India pushes for deeper trade ties despite tension over Russian oil

NEW DELHI (AP) — The U.S. and India are actively engaged on a bilateral trade agreement to deepen economic and strategic partnership, the U.S. ambassador-designate to New Delhi said Monday.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, India has emerged as the second biggest buyer of Russian crude after China, upsetting the Trump administration, which criticized the purchases as helping fuel Moscow’s war machine.

In August, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to place an additional 25% tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the United States to a steep 50%.

A close aide of Trump, the new ambassador-designate, Sergio Gor, said the next call between the two sides on trade-related matters was scheduled Tuesday.

“Real friends can disagree, but always resolve their differences in the end,” Gor said in an address on his first day in office at the U.S. Embassy. “Remember India is the world’s largest nation so it’s not an easy task to get this across the finish line, but we are determined to get there.”

Gor, who is also the U.S. special envoy to South and Central Asia, announced that India will be formally invited next month to join a U.S.-led strategic initiative called Pax Silica as part of a broader partnership.

The initiative aims to build a secure silicon supply chain, from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and artificial intelligence. Nations that joined it last month include Japan, South Korea, U.K. and Israel.

Gor’s comments on bolstering trade and economic ties with India highlights a renewed push to anchor the partnership at a time the relationship has strained following Washington’s mounting pressure on New Delhi to stop buying discounted Russian crude oil.

India and the U.S. have been negotiating a bilateral trade agreement since early last year. They hoped to conclude the first tranche by the fall of 2025, but it hasn’t come through mainly due to differences over sourcing of Russian oil, and Indian negotiators facing pressure to protect small farmers and domestic industries.

Gor said trade was an important aspect of the relationship, but the countries will also continue to work closely in areas such as security, counter terrorism, energy, technology, education and health.

In the face of steep U.S. tariffs, India has in recent months accelerated a push to finalize several free trade agreements. It signed one with Oman last month and concluded talks with New Zealand.

U.S. Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor speaks to embassy officials and media upon his arrival at the embassy in New Delhi, India, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

U.S. Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor speaks to embassy officials and media upon his arrival at the embassy in New Delhi, India, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

U.S. Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor speaks to embassy officials and media upon his arrival at the embassy in New Delhi, India, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

U.S. Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor, fifth left, front row facing the camera, meets embassy officials upon his arrival at the embassy in New Delhi, India, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

U.S. Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor speaks to embassy officials and media upon his arrival at the embassy in New Delhi, India, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A combined missile and drone attack on the Kyiv region killed at least four people and wounded at least 15 overnight into Saturday, according to the head of the regional administration for the Ukrainian capital.

Three of the wounded were in critical condition, of whom two were undergoing surgery, Mykola Kalashnyk reported on Saturday. The attack hit four districts, damaging residential buildings, educational institutions, enterprises and critical infrastructure, Kalashnyk added in a social media post.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the main target for the overnight strikes was "the energy infrastructure of the Kyiv region.” He said Russia launched around 430 drones of various types during the night, as well as 68 missiles.

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Saturday said the nighttime strikes targeted energy and industrial facilities serving Ukraine's armed forces, as well as military airfields.

The strikes came days after the U.S. postponed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine scheduled for this week, citing the war in the Middle East.

As U.S. and Israeli missiles and bombs rain on Iran, Russia has responded with words of indignation but no action to support its ally. Moscow’s failure to help another ally, after the 2024 ouster of former Syrian ruler Bashar Assad and January’s U.S. arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, highlighted the limits of its influence — but the Kremlin expects to reap benefits from the Iran war.

Russia is already profiting from a surge in global energy prices, and could hope that the Mideast war will detract attention from Ukraine and deplete Western arsenals.

Zelenskyy on Saturday called on Kyiv's Western partners to pay “one hundred percent attention” to the need to boost the production of air defense missiles.

“Russia will try to exploit the war in the Middle East to cause even greater destruction here in Europe, in Ukraine," he said in a post on social media.

"We must be fully aware of the real level of the threat and prepare accordingly, namely: in Europe, we need to develop the production of air defense missiles — especially those capable of countering ballistic threats — as well as all other systems necessary to truly protect lives,” he said.

Kyiv is also awaiting White House approval for a major drone production agreement proposed by Ukraine last year, Zelenskyy said Thursday, as countries scramble to modernize their air defenses after the Iran war exposed shortcomings.

Also on Thursday, Zelenskyy criticized the 30-day U.S. waiver on Russian oil sanctions amid the war in the Middle East, saying it is “not the right decision” and won’t help bring a stop to Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion of Ukraine.

“This easing alone by the United States could provide Russia with about $10 billion for the war,” Zelenskyy said. “This certainly does not help peace.”

Overnight into Saturday, Ukrainian drones hit an oil refinery and port in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, local Russian officials reported.

Krasnodar authorities said three people were hurt in a strike on Port Kavkaz, a port opposite Crimea used to ship liquefied natural gas and grains. A service vessel and pier infrastructure were damaged, they said in a social media post. One person was hospitalized, they added in a separate post later.

Falling drone debris also sparked a fire at the region’s Afipsky oil refinery, authorities said in a separate Telegram post. They said no one was hurt, but did not immediately comment on damage.

Earlier this week, Russian and Ukrainian officials both claimed front-line progress, with Ukraine saying it pushed Moscow’s forces back across places on the front line and the Kremlin insisting Russia’s invasion of its neighbor is making progress.

Firefighters put out the fire at railway workshops following a Russia missile and drone attack, in Brovary close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Firefighters put out the fire at railway workshops following a Russia missile and drone attack, in Brovary, close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Firefighters put out the fire at a residential neighbourhood following a Russia missile and drone attack, in Brovary, close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint presser with France's President Emmanuel Macron, not pictured, following a bilateral meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, Friday March 13, 2026. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)