‘An enemy, not a neutral...’: Former UK Navy officer slams India's Russian arms reliance and 'dark fleet oil deals'

“India is an enemy, not a friend or a neutral,” declared Tom Sharpe, a Royal Navy officer for 27 years, in a blistering opinion piece. He argues any country armed by Russia and bankrolling Putin “is an enemy. What else would you call it?”

In an article in The Telegraph, Sharpe blasted India’s Russian oil trade, saying it “reeks of duplicity.” Despite Western sanctions, India’s refiners “guzzle discounted crude,” often transported by dark fleet tankers masking their movements. By profiting from this trade, New Delhi “flouts global rules” while pretending neutrality, leaving the government’s “coy silence” as proof of avoiding accountability. “India is financing Putin’s atrocities,” he said.

Sharpe pointed out that Russian insurers won India’s approval in April 2025 to cover tankers shunned by Western firms, allowing deliveries above the G7’s $60-per-barrel cap. Sharpe is blunt: “Modi’s refusal to address insurance loopholes or vessel opacity shows a man who doesn’t care about right and wrong, only money. He is quite willing to finance Putin if it means cheaper oil: in this, he is an enemy of the West, not a friend and not a neutral.”

Sharpe also questions India’s military reliance on Russian hardware. “Putin’s supposedly unstoppable Kinzhal and Zircon weapons have both proven to be very stoppable using American made interceptors,” he said.

He recalled sailing behind the INS Teg in 2012, watching it struggle to maintain six knots, belching black smoke. “India had acquired a ship that was unable to move slowly through the water… an anti-submarine frigate that cannot move slowly and quietly is not a great deal of use.”

Despite India’s slow shift away from Russian arms, Sharpe sees no moral shift. “New Delhi’s unhelpful practices around illegal Russian oil are rapidly increasing… Soon India is going to have to choose a side, or we’re going to have to treat them the way they’re basically treating us: as an enemy.”

Meanwhile, netizens slammed Sharpe’s opinion on social media. 

Of course! Here’s a sharper, clearer rewrite that preserves the meaning and tone of the original comments:

“Brits should realise they need India more than India needs them. If you’ve got the guts, cut all trade ties and tell your PM to scrap the new India-UK trade deal,” one user wrote.

Another said, “Frankly, this bedwetting doesn’t bother India at all. Every country does what it must to survive and thrive. Some just do it more brazenly than others—and it’s hilarious to hear this from nations that once manipulated the world order for their own gain.”

A third chimed in: “Not long ago, the UK was happily welcoming Russian money and oligarchs. If Britain wants to go to war with Russia, that’s its choice. But choosing enmity with India to fit their narrative is foolish. Returning as emperors to their former colony won’t be so easy. Writing senile columns is the better option.”