EU pays Russia around €1 billion per month for oil and gas, - Times
Despite three and a half years of full-scale war, EU countries continue to pay Russia around €1 billion per month for oil and gas. This was reported by The Times, as reported by Censor.NET.
According to the publication, until 2022, the EU imported about 25 million tons of energy resources from Russia every month. "Since then, volumes have fallen by nine-tenths, but purchases — mainly gas — still amounted to more than €1 billion in August," the article says.
The largest buyers of gas over the past year were France, Hungary, Slovakia, Spain, and Belgium. Some countries, such as Hungary and Slovakia, continue to receive oil via the "Druzhba" pipeline thanks to exemptions from the embargo.
According to analysts, the main reason is price: Russian oil in 2024 was about 20% cheaper than alternative options.
"European governments may claim that their support for Ukraine is unequivocal. But in reality, the Russian military machine is still closely linked to the West through global supply chains," the publication writes.
The UK has also left a loophole: it does not buy Russian oil directly, but imports fuel made from it in India and Turkey, adds The Times.
