Bombshell report reveals EU betrayal as bloc spends more on Russian gas than Ukraine aid

The European Union has actually splashed out more cash on Russian fossil fuels than on financial aid to Ukraine, a surprising report marking the third anniversary of the invasion has indicated.

According to estimates from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea), the EU bought €21.9bn (£18.1bn) worth of Russian oil and gas in the third year of the war.

This exceeds the €18.7bn allocated to Ukraine in financial aid for 2024, as tracked by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), despite ongoing efforts to reduce dependence on the fuels that continue to fund Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

Vaibhav Raghunandan, an analyst at Crea and co-author of the report, condemned the EU’s purchases, saying: “Purchasing Russian fossil fuels is, quite plainly, akin to sending financial aid to the Kremlin and enabling its invasion.

“It’s a practice that must stop immediately to secure not just Ukraine’s future, but also Europe’s energy security.”

The researchers examined trade data to estimate the amount of Russian fuel sold globally in the third year of the invasion. As figures for February 2025 are not yet available, they forecast data based on January imports.

Their findings show that, in the calendar year 2024, the EU spent 39% more on Russian fossil fuel imports than it allocated in financial support to Ukraine. The aid figure does not include military or humanitarian contributions.

Christoph Trebesch, an economist at IfW Kiel, which was not involved in the study, highlighted the stark contrast between the financial aid mobilised for Ukraine and support given in past conflicts. He said: “Many countries were more generous in past conflicts.

Germany, for example, mobilised much more aid, more quickly for Kuwait’s liberation in 1990/91 than it has for Ukraine in a comparable time period.”

The report also found that Russia earned €242bn from global fossil fuel exports in the third year of its full-scale invasion, with total revenues since the war began now “inching closer to the trillion figure” as Moscow adapts to sanctions.

The Russian Government derives up to half of its tax revenues from oil and gas, relying on a “shadow fleet” of ageing and underinsured tankers to bypass restrictions. Crea says these obscure vessels now transport around a third of Russia’s fossil fuel export revenues.

On Wednesday, EU ambassadors agreed on fresh measures to crack down on Russia’s shadow fleet in what marks the bloc’s 16th round of sanctions since the war began.

The report estimates that Russian fossil fuel revenues could be slashed by 20% if existing sanctions are strengthened and loopholes closed.

ey measures include shutting down the so-called “refining loophole,” which allows Europe to buy Russian crude oil processed in third countries, and restricting gas flows through the TurkStream pipeline.

The report also urged the EU to take stronger action against Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).

While the bloc has drastically cut imports of Russian piped gas since the invasion, it has partially offset the shortfall with shipments of super-chilled LNG, including from Russia.

Jan-Eric Fähnrich, a gas analyst at Rystad Energy, said LNG’s role in the EU and UK has soared since the start of the war, increasing from a pre-war high of 81.3 million tonnes in 2019 to 119 million tonnes in 2022.

He added: “Russia captured the spot as No 2 LNG exporter to Europe last year.”