How Europe’s Oil and Gas Purchases Are Funding Russia’s War in Ukraine

Despite the war in Ukraine entering its fourth year, Western countries—especially those in Europe—are still buying large amounts of oil and gas from Russia. This ongoing business is giving Russia the money it needs to continue fighting in Ukraine, even as these same Western countries claim to support Ukraine with aid and military help.

Since the invasion began in February 2022, Russia has made more than “€883 billion” (about ₦1.6 quadrillion) from selling fossil fuels like oil and gas.

According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), this amount is more than three times what Ukraine has received in aid from its allies. “Data shows that Ukraine’s Western allies have paid Russia more for its hydrocarbons than they have given Ukraine in aid,” CREA reports.

A huge part of this oil and gas money comes from Europe. “The EU alone has paid Russia €209 billion for oil and gas since the war started,” CREA says. Even after the European Union tried to punish Russia with sanctions, Russian gas still flows into Europe, especially through Turkey.

Countries like Hungary and Slovakia are still receiving Russian crude oil directly through pipelines. In fact, Russian gas sent to Europe through Turkey went up by almost 27% in early 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.

Despite all the talk about sanctions, Russia’s fossil fuel earnings have only dropped by about 5% compared to last year. The volume of exports also fell by just 6%. In some cases, Russia is even making more money. 

“Last year saw a 6% increase in Russian revenues from crude oil exports, and a 9% year-on-year increase in revenues from pipeline gas,” CREA found. Russian officials say gas exports to Europe rose by up to 20% in 2024, and sales of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached record highs. Right now, “half of Russia’s LNG exports go to the EU,” CREA says.

So, why is this happening? Many Western leaders are afraid that cutting off Russian oil and gas will make energy prices rise for their own people. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, admits:

“The alliance has not imposed the strongest sanctions on Russian oil and gas because some member states fear an escalation in the conflict and because buying them is cheaper in the short term.”

There are also loopholes in the sanctions. For example, the EU’s latest sanctions package does not include a ban on Russian LNG. Instead, the EU has only promised to stop all Russian gas imports by the end of 2027. But until then, business continues as usual.

Russia is also finding clever ways to dodge the sanctions. One method is the use of a “shadow fleet”—old ships that secretly carry Russian oil to buyers around the world.

These ships often change names and ownership to avoid being caught. Another trick is called the “refining loophole.” Russian crude oil is sent to countries like Turkey and India, where it is turned into petrol and diesel.

These products are then sold to Europe and other Western countries, even though the oil originally came from Russia. CREA calls these places “laundromat refineries.”
Vaibhav Raghunandan, an analyst at CREA, explains:

“Everyone’s aware of it, but nobody is doing much to actually tackle it in a big way.”

India’s government has even pushed back against these claims, calling CREA’s report “a deceptive effort to tarnish India’s image.” But the reality is that as long as Western countries keep buying these refined products, Russia will keep making money.

Many campaigners and experts believe the West could do much more to stop Russia from funding its war machine. Mai Rosner, a senior campaigner from Global Witness, says:

“There’s no real desire in many governments to actually limit Russia’s ability to produce and sell oil. There is way too much fear about what that would mean for global energy markets. There’s a line drawn under where energy markets would be too undermined or too thrown off kilter.”

Vladimir Milov, a former Russian deputy energy minister, argues:

“Sanctions imposed on trade in Russian hydrocarbons should be better enforced—particularly the oil price cap adopted by the G7 group of nations, which is not working.”

He adds that Western governments have the tools to stop Russia’s shadow fleet, but enforcement must be constant and aggressive.

“That is a complex surgery operation. You need to periodically release batches of new sanctioned vessels, shell companies, traders, insurers etc. every several weeks.”

Some experts say the EU could easily stop buying Russian LNG. “Only 5% of the EU’s total LNG gas consumption in 2024 was from Russia,” says Raghunandan.

“If the EU decides to completely cut off Russian gas, it’s going to hurt Russia way more than it’s going to hurt consumers in the European Union.”

There are also doubts about suggestions that simply lowering oil prices would end the war. Former President Donald Trump once said that if OPEC brought oil prices down, the war would stop. But experts disagree.
Vladimir Milov says:

“People in Moscow are laughing at this idea, because the party which will suffer the most… is the American shale oil industry, the least cost-competitive oil industry in the world.”

The truth is, Russia’s cost of producing oil is lower than in many OPEC countries, so they would be hurt by lower prices before Russia.

In the end, the situation is full of contradictions. Western countries are giving aid to Ukraine but, at the same time, are still buying Russian oil and gas.
Mai Rosner sums it up:

“We now have a situation in which we are funding the aggressor in a war that we’re condemning and also funding the resistance to the war. This dependence on fossil fuels means that we are really at the whims of energy markets, global energy producers and hostile dictators.”

As long as the West keeps buying Russian energy, Russia will have the money it needs to continue its war in Ukraine. Until tougher action is taken, this strange and troubling cycle will continue.

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