Russia earned 158 billion euros in revenue from fossil fuel exports in six months of war, taking advantage of rising prices, according to a report by an independent research center that advocates 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. Clean Air (CREA), based in Finland.
Gasoline prices rose to historic levels in Europe, while oil prices soared at the start of the war before falling more recently.
“It is estimated that fossil fuel exports contributed 43 billion euros to the Russian federal budget, helping to finance war crimes in Ukraine,” the authors of the study calculate, quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
These figures are estimates for the first six months of the war after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, between February 24 and August 24.
In this period, CREA estimates that the main importer of Russian fossil fuels was the European Union (with 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 buying coal, but Russian gas, on which it relies heavily, is currently unaffected by the sanctions.
The think tank believes, however, that the European coal embargo, implemented on August 10, has paid off, with Russian exports falling to the lowest level since the invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia has not been able to find other buyers,” the study’s authors note.
CREA, for its part, believes that “stricter” rules should be established to prevent Russian oil from entering markets where it should be prohibited.
Western sanctions are now easily circumvented, the researchers warn in the report.
“The EU should prohibit the use of European ships and ports to transport Russian oil to third countries,” they also defend.
The United Kingdom is also urged to prohibit the participation of its insurance sector in these international transports.
For their part, the G7 countries decided this Friday to “urgently” limit the price of Russian oil, a complex mechanism to implement and destined to deal a new blow to Moscow’s energy income.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine has already caused the flight of more than 13 million people -more than six million internally displaced persons and more than seven million to neighboring countries-, according to the latest UN data. , which places this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the generality of the international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing them on Russia. sanctions
Source: TSF
