India’s imports of Russian crude are set to drop sharply in December to their lowest level in at least three years, as refiners scale back purchases to avoid breaching newly tightened Western sanctions, according to trade and refining sources.

The United States, Britain, and the European Union have stepped up restrictions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine, with Washington’s latest measures targeting major Russian producers Rosneft and Lukoil. Buyers were given until November 21 to wind down transactions with the two firms.

Separately, the EU has imposed a January 21 deadline after which it will refuse fuel from refineries that have processed Russian crude within 60 days of the bill of lading.

Against this backdrop, Indian state-run refiners have become “extremely cautious”, one refining source said. India is now expected to receive between 600,000 and 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil in December. The estimate includes cargoes for Indian Oil Corp and Nayara Energy, as well as some November-loading deliveries for Reliance Industries.

India imported 1.87 million bpd of Russian crude in November, according to provisional data from Kpler. October shipments stood at 1.65 million bpd, up 2% from September, according to trade sources.