The report also found Russia earned €242bn from global fossil fuel exports in the third year of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with revenues since the start of the war “now inching closer to the trillion figure” as the country adapts to sanctions.
The EU bought €21.9bn (£18.1bn) of Russian oil and gas in the third year of the war, according to estimates from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea), despite the efforts under way to kick the continent’s addiction to the fuels that fund Vladimir Putin’s war chest.
Europe has slashed its imports of piped Russian gas since the start of the Ukraine war but has sated some of its hunger for energy with shipments of super-chilled gas, including from Russia.
The EU is spending more money on Russian fossil fuels than on financial aid to Ukraine, a report marking the third anniversary of the invasion has found.
Vaibhav Raghunandan, an analyst at Crea and coauthor of the report, said: “Purchasing Russian fossil fuels is, quite plainly, akin to sending financial aid to the Kremlin and enabling its invasion.
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