EU Spends More on Russian Fossil Fuels Than Financial Aid to Ukraine, Reports The Guardian

The EU continues to spend more on Russian fossil fuels than on financial aid to Ukraine, the Guardian reported on February 24, citing the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

According to the news outlet, in the third year of the war, the EU purchased €21.9 billion (around $22,9 billion) worth of Russian oil and gas. Meanwhile, the EU allocated €18.7 billion (around $19.5 billion) in financial aid to Ukraine in 2024, according to a tracker from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

“Purchasing Russian fossil fuels is, quite plainly, akin to sending financial aid to the Kremlin and enabling its invasion. [It’s] a practice that must stop immediately to secure not just Ukraine’s future, but also Europe’s energy security,” said Vaibhav Raghunandan, a coauthor of the CREA report.

The reports show that in 2024, the EU spent 39% more on Russian fossil fuel imports than it allocated for financial aid to Ukraine. This figure excludes military and humanitarian assistance.

The Guardian added the commentary of Christoph Trebesch, an economist at IfW Kiel, where he noted a stark disparity between the aid mobilized for Ukraine and that provided in past wars. He highlighted that European donors, on average, have allocated less than 0.1% of their GDP annually.

“Many countries were more generous in past conflicts. Germany, for example, mobilized much more aid, more quickly for Kuwait’s liberation in 1990/91 than it has for Ukraine in a comparable time period,” he said.

Additionally, according to the outlet citing CREA, Russia derives up to half of its tax revenue from the oil and gas sector, with shadow fleet  vessels accounting for approximately one-third of its fossil fuel export revenues.

The United Kingdom is set to introduce a new package of sanctions against Russia on February 24, marking three years since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.