How the West helps Russia finance its war against Ukraine

Russia has continued to make billions of fossil fuel exports to the west, show the data, helping to finance its large -scale invasion of Ukraine – now in its fourth year.

Since the start of this invasion in February 2022, Russia has earned more than three times more money by exporting hydrocarbons that Ukraine has received in the aid allocated by its allies.

The data analyzed by the BBC show that the Western allies of Ukraine have paid Russia more for its hydrocarbons that they have provided Ukraine.

Activists say that governments in Europe and North America have to do more to prevent Russian oil and gas from fueling war with Ukraine.

Profits made from the sale of oil and gas are essential to maintain the Russian war machine.

Oil and gas represent nearly a third of Russia State revenues and more than 60% of its exports.

Following the invasion of February 2022, the allies of Ukraine imposed sanctions on Russian hydrocarbons. The United States and the United Kingdom have prohibited Russian oil and gas, while the EU has prohibited raw imports from the Russian Sea, but not gas.

Despite this, on May 29, Russia had earned more than 883 billion euros (973 billion dollars; 740 billion pounds sterling) of fossil fuel exports since the start of the large -scale invasion, including 228 billion euros in the sanction countries, According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

The lion’s share of this amount, 209 billion euros, came from EU member states.

EU states have continued to import pipeline gas directly from Russia until Ukraine cut the transit in January 2025, and Russian crude oil is still killed in Hungary and Slovakia.

Russian gas is still killed in Europe in increasing quantities via Turkey: CREA data show that its volume increased by 26.77% in January and February 2025 during the same period in 2024.

Hungary and Slovakia also receive Russian pipeline gas via Turkey.

Despite the Western efforts, in 2024, Russian income for fossil fuels dropped by 5% compared to 2023, as well as a similar decrease of 6% of export volumes, According to Crea. Last year also experienced a 6% increase in Russian gross oil exports and an increase of 9% in annual slip of pipeline gas income.

Russian estimates say that gas exports to Europe Increases to 20% In 2024, with exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reaching record levels. Currently, half of Russia’s LNG exports go to the EU, says CREA.

The head of the EU foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, said that the Alliance did not impose “the strongest sanctions” on Russian oil and gas because some member states fear climbing in the conflict and because buying them are “cheaper in the short term”.

LNG imports were not included in the last, 17th pack of sanctions on Russia approved by the EU, but He adopted a roadmap towards the end of all imports of Russian gas by the end of 2027.

The data show that the money earned by Russia because of the sale of fossil fuels has always exceeded the amount of the aid that Ukraine receives from its allies.

Thirst for fuel can hinder the efforts of the West to limit Russia’s ability to finance its war.

May Rosner, a main activist of the Global Witness pressure group, said that many Western decision -makers fear that the reduction in imports of Russian fuels leads to higher energy prices.

“There is no real desire in many governments to actually limit Russia’s ability to produce and sell oil. There is far too much fear of what it would mean for the global energy markets. There is a line traced under where the energy markets would be too undermined or too thrown,” she told the BBC.

In addition to direct sales, part of the oil exported by Russia is found in the West after being transformed into fuel products in third countries via what is known as “the refining flaw”. Sometimes it is also diluted with crude other countries.

Crea claims to have identified three “laundromat refineries” in Türkiye and three in India, dealing with Russian crude and selling the fuel that results in sanctioned countries. He indicates that they used 6.1 billion euros in Russian gross to manufacture products for sanctioned countries.

India Ministry of Oil Criticized Crea’s report Like “a deceptive effort to tarnish the image of India”.

“(These countries) know that the countries of sanction are willing to accept it. It is an escape. It is entirely legal. Everyone is aware of it, but nobody does much to resolve it considerably,” said Vaibhav Raghunandan, analyst at Crea.

Activists and experts argue that Western governments have the tools and means available to stem the flow of oil and gas income in Kremlin chests.

According to the former Russian Drive Minister of Energy Vladimir Milov, who is now a pure and hard opponent of Vladimir Putin, the sanctions imposed on the trade in Russian hydrocarbons should be better applied – in particular the oil price of oil adopted by the G7 nations group, which, according to Mr. Milov, “does not work“.

He is afraid, however, that the upheaval of the American government launched by President Donald Trump hinders agencies such as the US Treasury or the Office of Control of Foreign Assets (OFAC), which are essential for the application of sanctions.

Another avenue is a continuous pressure on Russia “shadow“Oil trees involved in the dodge of sanctions.

“It is a complex surgery operation. You must periodically release lots of new sanctioned ships, screens companies, traders, insurers, etc. every several weeks,” said Milov. According to him, it is an area where Western governments have been much more effective, in particular with The introduction of new sanctions by the outgoing administration of Joe Biden in January 2025.

May says that the ban on Russian LNG exports to Europe and the closure of the refining escape in Western jurisdictions would be “important stages to finish the decoupling of the West of Russian hydrocarbons”.

According to Mr. Raghunandan de Crea, it would be relatively easy for the EU to give up imports from Russian LNG.

“Fifty percent of their LNG exports are aimed at the European Union, and only 5% of the EU total gas (LNG) consumption in 2024 came from Russia. So, if the EU decides to cut Russian gas completely, this will harm Russia more than that will harm consumers of the European Union,” he told the BBC.

The experts interviewed by the BBC rejected Donald Trump’s idea That the war with Ukraine will end if the OPEC lowers oil prices.

“The inhabitants of Moscow make fun of this idea, because the party that will suffer the most … is the oil industry of American shale, the least competitive oil industry in the world,” Milov told BBC.

Raghunandan says that the cost of production of the crude Russia is also lower than that of OPEC countries like Saudi Arabia, they would therefore be injured by the prices of oil lower than Russia.

“There is no way that Saudi Arabia accepts this. It has already been tried. This has led to a conflict between Saudi Arabia and the United States,” he said.

Ms. Rosner says that there are moral and practical problems with the West that buys Russian hydrocarbons while supporting Ukraine.

“We now have a situation in which we finance the aggressor in a war that we condemn and also finance resistance to war,” she said. “This dependence on fossil fuels means that we are really the whims of energy markets, world energy producers and hostile dictators.”

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