Independent research organization CREA estimates the EU has still paid billions since February 24, despite Russia being internationally ostracized.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has paid over $16 billion (€15 billion) to Moscow for fossil fuel imports. More than $5 million was paid for oil imports, around $9.5 million spent on gas, and over $385 million went to coal imports. The data has been shared by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), an independent research organization, currently tracking how much money is still flowing from the EU ‘s finances into the Kremlin’s pockets. To estimate the volume of fossil fuel shipments from Russia to Europe, CREA looked at the aggregate cargo capacity of ships leaving Russian ports towards EU ports, and combined that with data on reported import volume and prices (based on average value and historic prices). “As you can see from the breakdown, gas is still the number one (import), then comes oil and then comes coal,” said Lauri Myllvirta, Lead Analyst, CREA. “For both oil and coal, the shipments have fallen after the outbreak of the war [but] gas has actually increased.” Europe’s dependence on Russia to keep its economy running and its homes warm has been harshly criticized since Russian troops started building up at the border of Ukraine before the start of the full-scale invasion of February 24. According to the latest data available from the European Commission, in 2019 Europe relied on Russia for 41.
