Key Points – Despite extensive sanctions, Western nations continue to significantly fund Russia’s war effort in Ukraine through substantial purchases of Russian fossil fuels, with Russia earning an estimated €883 billion from such exports since March 2022, nearly €228 billion from sanctioning states themselves.
-This revenue, a critical lifeline for the Kremlin, persists due to loopholes like the “refining loophole” (Russian crude processed in third countries like India and Turkey, then sold to the West) and continued EU imports of Russian pipeline gas and LNG.
-This situation creates an absurd paradox where the West simultaneously funds both Ukraine’s defense and Russia’s aggression.
West Funding Both Sides? How Russian Fossil Fuel Sales Bankroll Ukraine War
As Ukraine battles into the fourth year of resisting Russia’s full-scale invasion, an uncomfortable truth hangs over the West’s efforts to support Kyiv: while aid flows into Ukraine, even more money flows into Moscow’s coffers.
Sanctions Soar, But So Does Trade
Despite heavy sanctions, embargoes, and official condemnation, Western nations have continued to purchase Russian fossil fuels at staggering levels.
According to analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Russia has raked in an estimated €883 billion from fossil fuel exports since March 2022. Almost €228 billion of the figure directly came from states officially sanctioning Moscow.
Ironically, the figure is worth triple the aid Ukraine has received throughout the war.
This revenue remains a lifeline for the Kremlin, underwriting the very invasion the West claims to oppose. Oil and gas revenues now account for about a third of Russia’s state budget and more than 60% of its exports.
Yet while the US and UK banned Russian hydrocarbons early in the conflict and the EU introduced restrictions on seaborne crude, loopholes and hesitancy among European states have blunted these efforts.
EU Buying Half of Russian Natural Gas Exports
Pipeline gas continues to reach Hungary and Slovakia, and volumes rerouted via Turkey have even surged — up 26.77% in early 2025 compared to the previous year. Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Europe have reached record highs, with half of Russia’s LNG heading straight to the EU.
‘Refining Loophole’ Dodge Sanctions
Another layer of hypocrisy lies in what campaigners termed the “refining loophole”, whereby Russian crude is exported to third countries like Turkey and India, processed there, and then re-exported to the West. CREA identified at least six “laundromat” refineries responsible for this practice, involving over €6.1 billion worth of Russian crude. Although legal, critics say this practice undermines the very sanctions meant to cripple Putin’s war effort.
While EU leaders speak of a roadmap to phase out Russian gas by 2027, there is little sign of urgency. The latest package of EU sanctions — the 17th — conspicuously omits a ban on Russian LNG imports.
Meanwhile, former Russian deputy energy minister turned Kremlin critic Vladimir Milov warns that sanctions enforcement is flagging, especially as Donald Trump’s administration launches a sweeping shake-up of key US agencies responsible for overseeing sanctions.
Trump himself has floated the idea that pressuring OPEC to lower oil prices could end the war — an idea dismissed by experts as fantasy.
Not only would American shale producers be the first casualties of such a move, but Russia’s low production costs mean it could weather a price slump better than some OPEC states.
The West now finds itself in an absurd position: funding Ukraine’s defense with one hand, and financing Russia’s aggression with the other.
As Rosner told the BBC, “We are funding the aggressor in a war we condemn — and the resistance to that same war.”
About the Author:
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.
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Swamplaw Yankee
May 31, 2025 at 6:50 am
All MSM must review the countries that have LNG + oil and yet do not ship it in big numbers to Europe? Any countries come to mind?
Well, Canada has lots of Oil and LNG? Why is there no international pressure of this bonanza to be shipped to the east coast of Canada?
LNG + oil from Canada should be filling a big part of the Putin cash flow. But, no action from Canada for decades. Why is a historical question now.
The USA should be building a pipeline that ships Canadian oil thru the USA to the east coast. Geopolitics calls for this realistic concept. Should Trump not implement this fossil fuel concept now, so that it can not be cancelled in a few years. The WEST and particularly Ukraine needs this topic resolved now, in a short few critical months. -30-