In six months of war in Ukraine, Russia has made huge profits from high fossil fuel prices.

Russia has made 158 billion euros in revenue from fossil fuel exports in six months of war, taking advantage of high prices, according to a report by an independent research center published on Tuesday, which calls for more effective sanctions.

“Rising fossil fuel prices mean that Russia’s current revenues are well above those of previous years despite reductions in export volumes,” says the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air report. (Crea), based in Finland.

Gasoline prices soared to historic levels in Europe, while oil prices soared at the start of the war before falling more recently.

The European Union in the lead

“Fossil fuel exports are estimated to have contributed €43 billion to the Russian federal budget, helping to finance war crimes in Ukraine,” the authors calculated.

These figures were estimated for the first six months of the war after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, from February 24 to August 24. In this period, CREA estimates that the main importer of Russian fossil fuels was the European Union (for 85.1 billion euros), followed by China and Turkey.

The EU has decided on a gradual embargo on its imports of oil and derivatives. It has also stopped its purchases of coal, but for the moment it is not worried about Russian gas, on which it depends a lot.

Stricter rules need to be set

The research center believes, however, that the European coal embargo, implemented on August 10, has paid off, as Russian exports have fallen to their lowest level since the invasion of Ukraine. “Russia was unable to find other buyers,” the report’s authors write.

The CREA, for its part, considers that “stronger” rules must be established to prevent Russian oil from entering markets where it is supposed to be prohibited. According to him, Western sanctions are too easily circumvented today.

“The EU must prohibit the use of European ships and ports for the transport of Russian oil to third countries,” he also believes. The UK is also urged to prohibit the involvement of its insurance industry in such international transport.