These numbers refer to the first 6 months of the war following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or the period 24 February to 24 August. For this period, CREA concluded that the largest importer of Russian fossil fuel energy was the European Union (totaling €85.1 billion), followed by China and Turkey. The EU has decided to impose a gradual embargo on the import of oil and petroleum products. The community has also already ended coal purchases, but Russian gas, on which it is heavily dependent, is currently unaffected.
However, the research center believes that the European coal embargo imposed on August 10 is already bearing fruit, with Russian exports since then falling to their lowest levels since the invasion of Ukraine. “Russia failed to find other buyers,” the report’s authors wrote.
According to the researchers, “stricter” rules should be put in place to prevent Russian oil from entering markets where it is supposed to be banned. It is currently too easy to circumvent Western sanctions, the report said. The EU should ban the use of European ships and ports to transport Russian oil to third countries, experts say. The UK has also been urged to ban its insurance sector from being involved in such international transport. The G-7 countries decided on Friday to “urgently” put a ceiling on the price of Russian oil. it is a complex mechanism that must be put in place to deal another blow to Moscow’s energy profits.
