Russia Earns $98b from Fuel Exports in 100 Days of Ukraine War

By Staff, Agencies

Russia earned $98b from fossil fuel exports during the first 100 days of its invasion of Ukraine, according to an independent report published on Monday.

Over 60 percent of the fuel exports worth $60b were sent to the European Union, the Finland-based Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air [CREA] reported. Germany bought $12.7b worth of Russian fuel while Italy spent $8.1b on it. China became the top importer having paid Moscow nearly $13.2b.

Russia’s fossil fuel revenues exceed its sales of crude oil which amount to $46b. While the EU agreed to reduce its oil imports from Russia and cut gas shipments by two-thirds by the end of 2022, they struggled to approve a full oil embargo.

Despite Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky’s calls to cut all trade with Russia to hurt the Kremlin’s ability to finance the war, some countries have upped their purchases of liquefied natural gas [LNG] from Moscow.

"As the EU is considering stricter sanctions against Russia, France has increased its imports to become the largest buyer of LNG in the world," said CREA analyst Lauri Myllyvirta, adding that most of the purchases were not long-term commitments but recent contracts made during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

China, India and the United Arab Emirates have also acquired more Russian gas this year while the country’s average export prices became 60 percent higher than in 2021.

Although Russia’s exports decreased in May, following Western companies cutting ties with Moscow over the Ukraine war, the global rise in fuel prices keeps Russia’s export revenues at record highs.