Russia earns $158B in fuel exports after war began
PARIS: Russia has raked in a whopping 158 billion euros ($158 billion) in energy exports in the six months after sending troops into Ukraine, with the European Union accounting for more than half, a think tank said on Tuesday.
The think tank, the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), called for more effective sanctions against Moscow after its invasion of its pro-West neighbor sent oil, gas and coal prices soaring.
“Surging fossil fuel prices mean that Russia’s current revenue is far above previous years’ level despite the reductions in this year’s export volumes,” the Finland-based organization said.
Natural gas prices have recently soared to record levels in Europe as Russia chokes off supplies. Crude oil prices also jumped following the invasion, although they have since pulled back.
“Fossil fuel exports have contributed approximately 43 billion euros to Russia’s federal budget since the start of the invasion, helping fund war crimes in Ukraine,” CREA said.
The figures cover six months following the February 24 invasion.
During this period, the CREA estimated that the EU was the top importer of Russian fossil fuel, at 85.1 billion euros. China followed at 34.9 billion euros and Turkey, 10.7 billion euros.
While the EU has stopped purchases of Russian coal, it is only progressively banning Russian oil and it has not adopted any limit on the imports of natural gas, upon which it is highly dependent.
The EU ban on Russian coal imports has been effective, according to the think tank.
After the ban went into effect, Russian coal exports fell to their lowest levels since the war began.
“russia failed to find other buyers to replace falling EU demand,” the CREA said.
But it called for stronger rules and enforcement concerning Russian oil exports, urging the EU and the United Kingdom to use their leverage in global shipping.
“The EU must ban the use of European-owned ships and European ports for shipping Russian oil to third countries, while the UK needs to stop allowing its insurance industry to participate in this trade,” the CREA said.
The industrialized countries making up the Group of Seven (G7), meanwhile, vowed last Friday to impose a price cap on Russian crude, a move that would deprive Moscow of much of the revenue it now makes from its oil exports.
One G7 member, the United States, has been arguing for the imposition of a price cap for months, saying Western bans on Russian energy products were contributing to the price hikes that helped Moscow finance its war effort.