How the West helps Russia to finance his war in Ukraine

Russia continued to create billions of fossil fuel exports, data broadcasts, helping their full invasion of Ukraine – now in their fourth year.

From the beginning of that invasion in February 2022. year, Russia has made more than three times more money by exporting hydrocarbons than Ukraine received awarded to their allies.

Data analyzed by the BBC show that Western Allies to Ukraine paid Russia more for their hydrocarbons than they gave Ukraine to help.

Campaigns say that governments in Europe and North America have to do more to stop Russian oil and gas to encourage war with Ukraine.

Revenues from sales of oil and gas are key to keeping the Russian war machine.

Oil and gas make up almost a third of Russian state income and more than 60% of exports.

After an invasion of February 2022. year, Ukrainian allies are imposed on sanctions with Russian hydrocarbons. The United States and the United Kingdom banned Russian oil and gas, while the EU has banned Russian marine raw imports, but not gas.

Despite this, until May 29, Russia has made more than 883 billion euros (973 billion euros; 743bn of £ 740bn) from exports of fossil fuels from the beginning of full invasion, including 228 billion euros from sanctioning countries, According to the Center for Energy Research and Pure Air (CREA).

The lion share of that amount, 209 billion euros, came from EU Member States.

The EU countries continued to import gas pipeline directly from Russia until Ukraine cut transit in January 2025. years, and Russia’s raw oil is still entirely in Hungary and Slovakia.

Russian gas continues to be appreciated in Europe in increasing quantity through Turkey: Creav data show that its extent increased by 26.77% in January and February 2025. years in the same period in the same period 2024. years.

Hungary and Slovakia are still receiving Russian gas pipeline through Turkey.

Despite the efforts in the West, in 2024. year Russian revenues from fossil fuels, only 5% fell compared to 2023, together with a similar decline 6% in the amount of exports, According to Cream. Last year, the increase in Russian revenues from the exports of crude oil and 9% of the severanced increase in gas revenues in the pipeline were increased.

Russian estimates say gas exports to Europe rose up to 20% In 2024. year with liquid natural gas (LNG) exports it reaches record levels. Currently half of Russian exports in LNG go to the EU, says CREA.

The external head of EU foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, says that the Alliance did not impose “strongest sanctions” on Russian oil and gas, because some Member States fear escalations in the conflict and because they purchased them “cheaper in a short time.”

The import of LNG is not included in the latest, 17th package of sanctions in Russia approved by the EU, but Adopted the roadmap Ka’s end of all Russian gas imports by the end of 2027. years.

The data show that the money that Russia made the sale of fossil fuels consistently exceeded the amount of help Ukraine gets from their allies.

Fuel thirst can be reached by western effort to limit Russia’s ability to finance their war.

Mai Rosner, a senior campaign from the pressure group Global witness, says that many Western policies will be afraid that the cutting of Russian fuels will lead to higher energy prices.

“There are no real wishes in many governments to actually limit the ability of Russia to produce and sell the oil that would mean a line of energy that will be too violated or excessive with Kilter,” she said.

In addition to direct sales, some of the oils that Russia exported to the West after being processed in fuel products in third countries, which is known as a “refining hole”. It is sometimes diluted with rough from other countries.

CREA says that three “washing refinery” in Turkey and three in India processed Russian raw and selling fuel obtained on sanctioning countries. He says that they used Russian grub worth 6.1 billion euros to make products for sanction countries.

Indian Ministry of Oil Cream’s report was criticized as “deceiving effort to stifle the Indian image”.

“(These countries) know that the sanctioning countries are ready to accept it. This is completely legal. Everyone is not doing much to deal with the big way,” says Vaibhav Raghunandan, and the analyst at Creata.

The campaign and experts claim that Western governments have tools and funds available to flow oil and gas revenues in a jerk in the Kremlin treasurical.

According to the former Vice President of the Minister of Russian Vladimir Milova, which is now the main opponent of Vladimir Putini needs to better force – especially the CAP price census adopted by the G7 group of nations that G7 Milov says “does not work“.

Fear, however, that the US government was shaken by President Donald Trump interfering with the agency like the American Treasury or Foreign Control Offices (OFAC), which are crucial for compelling sanctions.

Another Avenue is a constant pressure on Russian “eyeshadow“Tanker involved in avoiding sanctions.

“It is a complex operation operation. You need occasional release of the series of new sanctioned vessels, shellfish, traders, insurers, etc. every week,” says G. Milov. According to him, this is an area in which Western governments were much more efficient, especially with Introduction of new sanctions by the outgoing administration of Joe Biden in January 2025. years.

Mai says that Russian LNG exports to Europe and closure a refining holes in Western jurisdictions were “important steps in the completion of Western Western Western Western Western westernities from Russian hydrocarbons.”

According to Mr. Raghunandan from CREA, it would be relatively easy to give up Russian LNG imports.

“Fifty percent of their LNG exports are directed towards the European Union, and only 5% of Russia’s gas, it will be completely cutting in the European Union,” he said to harm the European Union. “

Experts interviewed by BBC are rejected The idea of ​​Donald Trump That war with Ukraine will end if the OPEC brings prices of oil down.

“People in Moscow are laughing at this idea, because the party to suffer most … is the American Albanian industry Shale, the smallest cost-competitive oil industry in the world,” said BBC.

Mr. Raghunandan says that the cost of producing the crude group is also lower than in the OPEC countries such as Saudi Arabia, so they would be injured lower oil prices before Russia.

“There’s no way Saudi Arabia will agree to that. This was previously tried. It led to the conflict of Saudi Arabia and the United States,” he says.

Ms. Rosner says there are both moral and practical issues with the West that buy Russian hydrocarbons while supporting Ukraine.

“We now have a situation in which we are financing aggressors in the war we condemn and finance resistance to war,” she says. “This dependence on fossil fuels means that we are indeed in the whims energy markets, global energy producers and enemy dictators.”