How the West helps Russia fund its war against Ukraine

Russia continues to make billions of fossil exports to the West, show data, helping to fund its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

Since the beginning of this invasion in February 2022, Russia has made more than three more money, exporting hydrocarbons than Ukraine has received to help distributed by its allies.

The BBC data shows that the Western allies of Ukraine have paid more to Russia for its hydrocarbons than they have given Ukraine to help.

Campaigns say governments in Europe and North America need to do more to stop Russian oil and gas to feed the war with Ukraine.

Revenues made by the sale of oil and gas are crucial for the maintenance of the Russian military machine.

Oil and gas represent almost one -third of Russia’s state revenue and over 60% of its exports.

As a result of the invasion of February 2022, the allies of Ukraine imposed sanctions on Russian hydrocarbons. The United States and the United Kingdom banned Russian oil and gas until the EU banned the import of raw material to the sea, but not gas.

However, by May 29, Russia has made more than 883 billion euros ($ 973 billion; £ 740 billion) revenue from exhaust fuels from the beginning of the full -scale invasion, including 228 billion euros from the countries sanctioned, According to the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research (Crea)S

The share of the lion of this amount, 209 billion euros, comes from the EU member states.

EU countries continue to import a gas pipeline from Russia until Ukraine reduces transit in January 2025, and Russian crude oil is still tubular to Hungary and Slovakia.

Russian gas is still pipe for Europe in increasing quantities through Turkey: CREA data show that its volume increased by 26.77% in January and February 2025. During the same period in 2024.

Hungary and Slovakia are also still receiving Russian gas pipelines through Turkey.

Despite the West’s efforts, in 2024, Russian fossil revenue fell by only 5% compared to 2023, along with a similar 6% decrease in the volume of exports, According to VrayaS Last year, it also noted a 6% increase in revenue from Russian from raw oil exports and increases of 9% revenue on an annual base of the gas pipeline.

Russian estimates say gas exports to Europe increased by up to 20% In 2024, with the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG), reaching record levels. Half of the exports of liquefied natural gas to the EU currently, Creata says.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kalas says the Union has not imposed the “most strong sanctions” of Russian oil and gas because some Member States are afraid of escalation in the conflict and because buying them is “cheaper in the short term”.

Imports of liquefied natural gas is not included in the last, 17th package of sanctions against Russia approved by the EU, but She has accepted a roadmap to the termination of all Russian import of gas by the end of 2027.

The data show that the money made by Russia from the sale of fossil fuels constantly exceeds the amount of help Ukraine receives from its allies.

The thirst for fuel can prevent the West’s efforts from limiting Russia’s ability to finance its war.

May Rosner, a senior campaign by the global witness of the pressure group, says many Western politicians fear that a reduction in imports of Russian fuels will lead to higher energy prices.

“There is no real desire in many governments to actually limit Russia’s ability to produce and sell oil. There is too much fear of what it would mean for the global energy markets. There is a line where energy markets are made to be too undermined or too tossed by Kilter,” she told the BBC.

In addition to direct sales, part of the oil exported from Russia, it ends up in the West after being processed in combustion products in third countries through what is known as the “refining door”. It is sometimes diluted with rough on other sides.

Cea says she has identified three “washing refineries” in Turkey and three in India, processing Russian raw material and selling the resulting fuel to the sanctioning countries. It says they used Russian raw material worth 6.1 billion euros to make products for sanctioning countries.

Indian Ministry of Petroleum criticize the Crea Report as a “deceptive effort to tarnish India’s image”.

“(These countries) know that the countries are sanctioning are ready to accept this. This is a door. It’s completely legal. Everyone is aware of it, but no one does much to deal with it in a big way,” says Vibhav Raghunandan, an analyst at CREA.

Campaigns and experts say Western governments have instruments and means to end the flow of oil and gas revenue in the Kremlin’s offices.

According to the former Deputy Minister of Energy of Russian Vladimir Milov, who is now a deliberate opponent of Vladimir Putin, the sanctions imposed on the trade in Russian hydrocarbons should be better attached -the particularly limited price of the price of oil adopted by the G7 group, which says G -n Milov “does not work“.

However, he is afraid that shaking the US government, launched by President Donald Trump, will prevent agencies such as the US Department of Finance or the Foreign Assets Control Service (OFAC), which are crucial to the implementation of sanctions.

Another time is a continued pressure on Russia “Shade fleet“To the tankers participating in the avoidance of sanctions.

“This is a complex operation for surgery. You should periodically release batches of new sanctioned ships, shells, traders, insurers, etc. every few weeks,” says G -n Milov. According to him, this is an area in which Western governments were much more effective, especially with The introduction of new sanctions From Joe Biden’s departure administration in January 2025.

May says the ban on Russian exports of the VPG to Europe and the closure of the refining door in Western jurisdictions will be “important steps to complete the separation of the West from Russian hydrocarbons.”

According to Crea Raghunandan, it would be relatively easy for the EU to abandon the import of Russian liquefied natural gas.

“Fifty percent of their exports to the Air Force are directed to the European Union, and only 5% of the total gas consumption in the EU (VPG) in 2024 is from Russia. So if the EU decides to completely shorten Russian gas, it will harm Russia much more, then it will harm consumers in the European Union,” he said.

Experts interviewed by the BBC have rejected Donald Trump’s idea that the war with Ukraine will end if OPEC reduces oil prices.

“The people in Moscow laugh at this idea because the party that will suffer the most … is the American shale oil industry, the least competitive oil industry in the world,” Mr. Milov told the BBC.

Raghunandan says that the price of Russia for raw material production is also lower than in OPEC countries like Saudi Arabia, so they will be injured by lower oil prices before Russia.

“There is no way Saudi Arabia can agree to this. This has been tested before. This has led to a conflict between Saudi Arabia and the United States,” he says.

G -Ja Rosner says there are both moral and practical problems with the West who buys Russian hydrocarbons while supporting Ukraine.

“Now we have a situation in which we fund the aggressor in war that we condemn and also fund the resistance to war,” she says. “This dependence on fossil fuels means that we are really on the whims of energy markets, global energy producers and hostile dictators.”