Russia Nearly Doubled Its Income From Energy Sales To The EU During Wartime, Study Shows
According to RFE/RL, Moscow continues to benefit from Europe's energy dependence on Russian oil despite a reduction in sales due to sanctions imposed to pressure it to end its war against Ukraine, according to experts with a Finland-based research organization.
New research by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) released on April 28 shows that Russia has nearly doubled its revenues from sales of fossil fuels to the EU during the two months of war in Ukraine.
RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
Soaring prices have more than compensated Russia for the loss in sales volume due to sanctions, the research shows.
Researchers at CREA also say new sanctions promise to drive up prices even more, nullifying efforts to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from using energy to pressure the EU and to finance the war against Ukraine.
Since the start of the war, Russia has sold 46 billion euros worth of energy resources to the European Union, and the figure continues to rise. This is about twice as much as the amount of sales in the same period in 2021,according to CREA.
Even though there was a decline in the volume of sales, the increase in the price of oil brought Moscow about 63 billion euros ($66 billion) on the energy exported on ships and through pipelines since the invasion was launched on February 24.
According to CREA, the volume of Russian oil imported by the EU fell by 20 percent and coal by 40 percent. However, gas imports grew, and Germany remains the main buyer. During the two months of the war, it imported energy products worth 9 billion euros.
Lauri Millivirta, lead analyst at CREA, said the continued export of energy "is a big hole in the sanctions" and all countries that buy fuel from Russia "become complicit in the monstrous violations of international law committed by the Russian military."
The only way to stop the war would be a quick and complete rejection of Russian energy carriers, she believes.
The European Parliament in March adopted a resolution calling for an embargo on Russian energy, but so far the European Union has only discussed such an embargo. The EU has imposed an embargo on Russian coal that will take effect from August.
The German government has ruled out a gas embargo because of the economic damage it would cause, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on April 28 that Germany must prepare for Russia to suspend gas deliveries.
