Russia deepens ties with India, seeks joint drone production – ISW
Photo: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
The Kremlin is increasingly relying on India to compensate for its labor shortage and also wants New Delhi to support the production of drones that Russia seeks to use in the war, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The head of the Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, said on December 5 that Russia is in talks with India about localizing the production of Russian drones, including the Lancet, in India.
The day before, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said in an interview with India Today that Russia not only sells weapons to India but also transfers technologies for shipbuilding, rocket production, and the aviation sector. The dictator claims that India is using Russian Su-57 fighter jets and is producing T-90 tanks and jointly developed BrahMos missiles on its territory.
Analysts note that such statements by Putin and the head of Rostec indicate that Moscow may be considering expanding cooperation with India to include joint drone production.
Russia is likely planning to use these drones in its war against Ukraine — possibly in exchange for transferring new Russian technologies and combat experience to India.
It is also known that a delegation from the Smolensk FPV Drone Piloting Center has arrived in India to carry out tasks within the framework of the Russian-Indian strategic partnership.
On December 5, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said that Russia can accept an "unlimited number" of labor migrants from India under a new bilateral labor mobility agreement signed that day in New Delhi.
According to Manturov, the Russian industrial sector is short 800,000 workers, and the trade, construction, and services sectors lack 1.5 million people.
The deputy prime minister said it will take Russia more than a year to create the conditions needed to receive, employ, and process the documents of Indian migrants.
At the same time, the head of the occupation authorities in the Kherson region, Volodymyr Saldo, said on December 6 that possible cooperation with Indian partners was discussed at a recent international investment forum in Moscow.
Saldo claims that the occupation authorities are ready to attract Indian labor migrants to “strengthen the region’s agricultural industry” and are prepared to cooperate with Indian partners to integrate the occupied Kherson region into “international trade corridors.”
Russia–India cooperation
As a reminder, India has faced economic and trade losses due to its cooperation with Russia, especially in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine and sanctions pressure from the US and the EU.
Because of its close ties with Russia, the US in 2025 raised tariffs on most Indian goods to 50 percent, including “additional” tariffs linked to purchases of Russian energy resources and weapons. This has negatively affected Indian manufacturers who target the American market.
For this reason, in December 2025, India plans to reduce exports of Russian oil to the lowest level in the past three years.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that Indian energy giant Reliance Industries completely halted imports of Russian oil on November 20.
Instead, the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries purchased millions of barrels of oil from Middle Eastern countries and the US after American sanctions were imposed on two Russian producers.
In addition, the media reported that India plans to discuss purchasing Russian fighter jets and missile defense systems during a visit by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
It is also known that India will lease a nuclear attack submarine from Russia for 10 years. The deal is worth 2 billion dollars.
