cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26410527
The EU is spending more money on Russian fossil fuels than on financial aid to Ukraine, a report marking the third anniversary of the invasion has found.
The EU bought €21.9bn (£18.1bn) of Russian oil and gas in the third year of the war, according to estimates from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea), despite the efforts under way to kick the continent’s addiction to the fuels that fund Vladimir Putin’s war chest.
The amount is one-sixth greater than the €18.7bn the EU allocated to Ukraine in financial aid in 2024, according to a tracker from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
Here is the website and analysis for 12/2024 of the CREA:
https://energyandcleanair.org/december-2024-monthly-analysis-of-russian-fossil-fuel-exports-and-sanctions/
Note that the figure €21.9bn in the article probably only refers to direct imports from Russia. The indirect imports through sanction circumvention using mainly India and Turkey likely adds another significant amount on top, however it is difficult to quantify.
Also since the discussion came up in regards to the German Left party, who did well in Sundays election. This is exactly what they mean, when they say that they want to focus on sanctions instead of weapon deliveries. The EU has been bankrolling Russias war effort well into 2023 and 2024. If you arm both sides in a war, it mainly serves to increase their losses, rather than changing the tide of the war.