Putin paid $140bn since war began

BERLIN: Germany paid Russia more than €12bn ($18bn) for fossil fuels and remained Moscow’s largest client for natural gas over the first 100 days of the war in Ukraine, an analysis has found.

Over the same period, the EU bought more than 60 per cent of Russia’s hydrocarbon exports, which in turn typically make up almost 50 per cent of the Kremlin’s state revenues.

While the EU has imposed a gradual embargo on most Russian oil imports and is trying to scale back its reliance on gas from Russia, high international energy prices and demand from China and India mean Moscow’s revenue is set to soar as much as €14bn this year. In total, Russia has been paid €93bn – about $140bn – since it invaded Ukraine on February 24.

As a result, the income stream from these fossil fuel exports comfortably exceeds the €840m Vladimir Putin is spending on his invasion of Ukraine each day, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

Since the start of the war, Russia has continued to supply the EU with 85 per cent of its pipeline gas, 75 per cent of its liquefied natural gas and 50 per cent of its crude oil, the researchers said.

Putin’s main customer in the European bloc is Germany, which is struggling to unwind three decades of growing dependence on Russian oil and gas.