During the first 100 days of the Ukraine war, Russia earned 93 billion euros from fossil energy exports, mainly from the European Union, according to a report issued Monday by an independent think tank, referring in particular to France.
The report by the Finland-based Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air came at a time when Ukraine was urging Westerners to stop energy imports from Russia to deprive the Kremlin of a source of funding for its war against it.
The European Union recently approved a gradual ban on its imports of Russian oil, with some exceptions, and the embargo does not currently include the gas on which the bloc depends.
According to the report, the European Union accounted for 61 percent of Russia’s fossil energy exports, or nearly 57 billion euros, during the first 100 days of Russia’s attack on Ukraine between February 24 and June 3.
The major importing countries were China (12.6 billion euros), Germany (12.1 billion) and Italy (7.6 billion).
The first source of revenue for Russia is crude oil (46 billion euros), followed by gas exported through pipelines (24 billion euros), then oil derivatives, liquefied natural gas, and finally coal.
The figures show that Russia’s revenues have not stopped even if exports fell in May, and although Russia is forced to sell its production at discounted prices in international markets, as it has benefited from the rise in energy prices in the world.
Although some countries such as Poland, Finland and the Baltic states are making great efforts to reduce their imports, other countries have increased their purchases, including China, India and France, according to the center.
“While the European Union is considering tightening sanctions against Russia, France has increased its imports to become the largest importer of Russian liquefied natural gas in the world,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, an analyst at the center.
The expert explained that the purchases are made in cash and not in the framework of long-term contracts, which means that France deliberately decided to supply Russian energy despite the Ukraine war.
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