Reliance says not received any Russian oil in three weeks, none expected in Jan
New Delhi (PTI): Reliance Industries Ltd, the operator of the world's largest single site oil refining complex and till recently India's biggest buyer of Russian oil, on Tuesday said it has not received any Russian barrels in almost three weeks and none are expected in January.
On November 20, 2025, Reliance had said it has halted the use of Russian crude at its export-only refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat, as the company moves to comply with European Union sanctions.
Prior to that, Reliance was India's largest buyer of Russian oil, which it processes and turns into fuel, such as petrol and diesel, at its giant oil refining complex at Jamnagar.
The complex is made up of two refineries -- one SEZ unit from which fuels are exported to the European Union, the US, and other markets, and an older unit that primarily caters to the domestic market.
The European Union -- a big market for Reliance -- has imposed wide-ranging sanctions targeting Russia's energy revenues, including measures that restrict the import and sale of fuels produced from Russian crude oil.
ALSO READ: Mysuru court receives bomb threat, halts proceedings
To comply with these, Reliance had stopped processing Russian crude oil at its only-for-exports (SEZ) refinery.
On Tuesday, it called a Bloomberg report claiming "three vessels laden with Russian oil are heated for Reliance's Jamnagar refinery as "blatantly untrue".
"Reliance Industries' Jamangar refinery has not received any cargo of Russian oil at its refinery in the past three weeks approx. and is not expecting any Russian crude oil deliveries in January," the company said in a statement.
The Bloomberg report had cited data analytics firm Kpler to say at least three tankers, laden with nearly 2.2 million barrels of urals (a grade of Russian crude), were headed towards the Sikka port -- through which Jamnagar refining complex sources a bulk of its crude imports.
However, Sikka is also the port that is used by non-Reliance companies.
Industry sources said the three cargoes cited in the report were probably for Bina refinery of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and not Reliance.
"We have stopped importing Russian crude oil into our SEZ refinery with effect from November 20," a Reliance spokesperson had said in a statement on November 20, 2025.
"From December 1, all product exports from the SEZ refinery will be obtained from non-Russian crude oil."
Reliance purchased about half of the 1.7-1.8 million barrels per day of discounted Russian crude shipped to India prior to that.
India became the second-largest buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude after the Ukraine war began in 2022, drawing criticism from western nations that have imposed sanctions on Russia's energy sector, arguing that oil revenues help finance Moscow's war effort.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday warned that the United States could raise tariffs on India if New Delhi fails to curb purchases of Russian oil.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Nine dead as massive fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): A fire ripped through a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, leaving nine people from two families dead, including a toddler, officials said.
The incident was reported at 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
The blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting frantic rescue efforts.
With the terrace door locked, the building occupants found it difficult to escape the leaping flames.
Twelve fire tenders were pressed into service, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in evacuation and rescue efforts.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
According to the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), nine charred bodies were recovered from different parts of the building. "One body was recovered from the first floor, five from the second floor and three from the staircase which was found locked," a DFS officer said.
ALSO READ: Road crash in Rajasthan leaves woman dead, husband injured
Those killed on the second floor were identified as Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), their son Nishant Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33) and grandchild Akash Jain.
On the third floor, three members of another family -- Nitin Jain (50), his wife Shailey Jain (48) and their son Samyak Jain (25) -- were found dead.
On the first floor, a woman identified as Shikha Jain (45) was found dead, while her husband Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries.
A senior police officer said around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the building during the operation. Two persons with minor injuries were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.
Flames had engulfed large portions of the structure, with thick plumes of smoke spreading across the locality and reducing visibility.
Fire fighters said screams could be heard from those trapped inside the building as they battled for hours to bring the blaze under control.
A firefighter involved in the operation said the intensity of the blaze was significantly higher in the rear portion of the building.
"The fire intensity was higher in the four flats at the rear as compared to the front portion. So far, we have recovered nine bodies and handed them over to Delhi Police. It is difficult to provide details at this stage. The cause of the fire is still under investigation," he said.
He said access constraints worsened the situation.
"Three bodies were found near the terrace level. The access to the roof was locked, and because of this, they could not save their lives. If it had not been locked, they might have survived," he said.
"There is a central staircase which serves as both entry and exit. The rear side gate was covered with a grille, due to which we had to cut it using tools to carry out rescue operations. We deployed five ladders from different sides and also used a turntable ladder vehicle to rescue around 15 people," the firefighter added.
Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta condoled the loss of lives in the fire tragedy, and said immediate medical assistance and relief are being provided to the affected people.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva along with Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, local MLA Sanjay Goel, Councillor Pankaj Luthra and BJP Shahdara district president Deepak Gaba, met the bereaved families around 10 am and extended condolences to them on behalf of the ruling party.
The BJP leader said Goel reached the spot within minutes of receiving the information and helped save 18 to 20 people while monitoring the rescue operations.
While talking to reporters, Malhotra described the incident as extremely tragic.
Lauding the prompt response of the fire brigade and police personnel, Malhotra said due to their timely action, around 20 people were rescued.
