Most People Don't Know That the Europeans Are Helping Fund the Russian Side of the War
Hot Air ^ | March 03, 2025 | David Strom
Posted on 03/03/2025 6:49:17 AM PST by george76
Did you know that the European Union has sent more money to Russia in payment for petroleum products than they have provided aid to Ukraine.
You read that right: the EU is funding both sides of the war.
...
EU imports of Russian fossil fuels in the third year of the invasion surpassed the EUR 18.7 bn of financial aid they sent to Ukraine in 2024
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All the virtue signaling from European leaders about standing with Ukraine is completely belied by this. They all continue to trade with Russia and import oil, gas, and coal. If they were really serious, they'd address this first.
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As our European "allies" decry the nastiness of Bad Orange Man, they conveniently elide the fact that Russia, for whom oil exports are their economic lifeline, is profiting mightily from European purchases.
So much for their moral preening, while Europe is not Russia's main trading partner anymore, they still are sending boatloads of cash despite what were supposed to be crippling sanctions.
...
Despite a range of sanctions and the threat posed by dependence on Russian energy, in the third year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU imports of Russian fossil fuels in particular remain largely unchanged, totalling EUR 21.9 bn, a 6% year-on-year drop in value but merely a 1% year-on-year drop in volumes.
Notably, EU imports of Russian fossil fuels in the third year of the invasion surpassed the EUR 18.7 bn of financial aid they sent to Ukraine in 2024.
Russia’s total global fossil fuel earnings in the third year of the invasion also reached EUR 242 bn and have totalled EUR 847 bn since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
And it's no wonder that Europeans still rely on Russian energy production. As they have been decarbonizing their economies, the reduction in fossil fuel production has exceeded the reduction in energy consumption. Even as these countries continue to deindustrialize in order to decarbonize, and even as energy prices have skyrocketed (this is a policy choice intended to reduce consumption), abundant energy is still the most important factor in maintaining a Western-style quality of life.
You can only decarbonize so far so fast, and they have reached and pretty much exceeded that limit. With European leaders on very shaky political ground they have to maintain their imports of Russian goods.
Ironically, Russia depends much less on European purchases than Europe depends on Russian oil and gas now. As the Europeans have been trying to reduce their reliance, Russia has found new clients for their fossil fuels. China and Turkey have become major importers, and while it would hurt, if European countries really did enter the war their economies would be crippled.
In the third year of the invasion, Russia earned EUR 242 bn from global fossil fuel exports, a 3% year-on-year-drop; EUR 104 bn from crude oil, EUR 75 bn from oil products, EUR 40 bn from gas and EUR 23 bn from coal.
Despite a host of sanctions, Russian revenues in the third year have dropped by a mere 8% compared to the year prior to the invasion of Ukraine. Since the invasion, Russia has earned an estimated EUR 847 bn from fossil fuels exports globally.
The EU paid EUR 21.9 bn for Russian fossil fuel imports in the third year of the invasion, a mere 1% year-on-year reduction in volume. The EU’s Russian imports in the third year of the invasion surpassed the EUR 18.7 bn of financial aid sent to Ukraine in 2024.
The effect of sanctions on Russian Urals grade crude was 70% lower in the third year than the year prior, with sanctions slashing revenues by 6%, totalling EUR 2.6 bn. This is mainly due to Russia’s increased use of ‘shadow’ tankers to transport oil to its new markets, enabling it to bypass the oil price cap.
Russia relied on 558 Russian ‘shadow’ vessels to transport 61% of its total seaborne oil exports, valued at EUR 83 bn in the third year of the invasion. Despite a range of sanctions, EU Member States spent EUR 7 bn on Russian LNG in the third year of the invasion, with volumes rising by 9% year-on-year.
G7+ countries imported EUR 18 bn worth of oil products from six refineries in India and Turkey of which an estimated EUR 9 bn was refined from Russian crude. Their imports of oil products made from Russian crude generated an estimated EUR 4 bn in tax revenues for Russia.
Stronger sanctions countering Russian circumventions and targeted towards growing revenue streams can slash Russian fossil fuel export revenues by EUR 51 bn annually, effectively cutting earnings by 20%.
The Europeans are talking tough, but even they admit that the United States is key to making a peace deal and that Ukraine will not become part of NATO. Instead, Kier Starmer is now talking about a "coalition of the willing" to defend Ukraine, which is a far cry from NATO.
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This really is not far from Trump's position, which is that Ukraine is Europe's problem and not ours. If they want to risk war with Russia--and if the mineral deal goes through, the risk will be low for quite a while--that is their problem.
And despite Starmer's wishy-washy backing of Trump and loud proclamations of support for Zelenskyy, the British Ambassador to the United States is now saying Zelenskyy must agree to Trump's demands.
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Europeans can neither defend themselves without the United States nor even wean themselves from Russian oil and gas.
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Zelenskyy overplayed his hand, and I think he did so because Europeans and liberals here in the US thought they could bully Trump into changing his mind by ambushing him on worldwide TV and then shaming him for being a bully.
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That was a miscalculation of enormous proportions. It is they who are recalibrating, not Trump. Because they have to.
UPDATE: NATO Chief Mark Rutte issued a stern warning to Zelenskyy:
In an interesting turn of events, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte just urged Zelensky to mend ties with Trump and the U.S., emphasizing the importance of strong relations.
The news comes despite the fact many heads of state of European members of NATO defended Zelensky after Trump's exchange with him yesterday.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte:
"You have to find a way, dear Volodymyr, to restore your relationship with Donald Trump and the American administration."
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; European Union; Foreign Affairs; France; Germany; Government; News/Current Events; Russia; Ukraine; United Kingdom; War
KEYWORDS: belongsinbloggers; bloggers; eu; europeanunion; eussr; fossilfuel; fossilfuels; gas; molotovribbentrop; newmolotovribbentrop; oil; petroleumproducts; russia; russian; russiangas; russianoil; russiaoilandgas; tds; ukraine; unitedkingdom; war
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1 posted on 03/03/2025 6:49:17 AM PST by george76
To: george76
This reminds me of the war in “1984”.
2 posted on 03/03/2025 6:55:03 AM PST by Highest Authority (DemonRats are pure EVIL)
To: george76
Those Europeans can’t wait to jump out of their spa pools and go bayonet to bayonet with some Russians.
They dream of being in tanks while riding their scooters.
3 posted on 03/03/2025 6:56:16 AM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer” )
To: george76
4 posted on 03/03/2025 6:59:32 AM PST by nopardons
To: george76
Trump needs to make this front and center tomorrow night.
5 posted on 03/03/2025 7:00:24 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
To: blueunicorn6
Those Europeans can’t wait to jump out of their spa pools and go bayonet to bayonet with some Russians.
No they can’t wait for American boys to go bayonet to bayonet with some Russians.
6 posted on 03/03/2025 7:01:12 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
To: dfwgator
The Euroweenies are pathetic liars and useless allies.
The days of “shared values” are long gone.
7 posted on 03/03/2025 7:02:35 AM PST by cgbg (The Democrat Party is a criminal enterprise.)
To: george76
As the EU is fracturing and economies tanking, best they rebuild the Nordstream pipeline they blew up, and restart Trade and Commerce with the country that has the largest mineral and energy reserves in the world- Russia.
Of course the unelected fools in power want war. Fools.
8 posted on 03/03/2025 7:04:20 AM PST by delta7
To: george76
The purchase of Russian gas was good for both nations. Cheap gas fueled German industry. The relationship was good for both sides until the DC/London/Brussels axis started a series of color revolutions and fanned the embers of Ukrainian nazism to help overthrow Kiev.
9 posted on 03/03/2025 7:07:36 AM PST by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2025... RETURN OF THE JEDI...)
To: george76
who cares?
its time to remove sanctions and normalize relations.
ceasefire now!
#MAGA
To: All
Virtue signaling from European leaders about standing w/ Ukraine, trashing Trump, is belied by the EU sending more money to Russia in payment for petroleum products than provided in war aid to Ukraine.
They continue to trade with Russia and import oil, gas, and
coal. If they were really serious, they’d address this first.
11 posted on 03/03/2025 7:21:46 AM PST by Liz
To: george76
Reminds me of the end of Bridge Over The River Kwai.
Zelensky supporters: what have I done?
To: All
The ECB can print trillions, just like Bernanke did.
The dirty little secret is that money has to have something to buy, and it is very possible the raw materials for artillery shells have run out underground in friendly countries. This would be a surprise. It has been hinted at for oil and gas, but for the materials needed for millions of artillery shells, this would be news.
13 posted on 03/03/2025 7:42:08 AM PST by Owen
To: george76
Tripled-sourced this news. It is quite correct, in general.
This makes one particularly curious about the Kabuki-style theater that has so spawned the "narrative."
Expect some next "Squirrel! Look over there" in hopes one stops noticing the elite of the European Commission and the EU's duplicity.
To: CarolinaReaganFan
who cares?
its time to remove sanctions and normalize relations.
ceasefire now!
#MAGA
————
Amen. Restoring Trade and Commerce with Russia benefits all of the EU and the world. The unelected EU leadership still wants war, and it will destroy the EU ( as we are witnessing), fools they are.
15 posted on 03/03/2025 8:02:59 AM PST by delta7
To: Owen
--- "...it is very possible the raw materials for artillery shells have run out underground in friendly countries...."
One might also factor in the labor costs associated with the production of such materiel. It is assured that labor costs in Russia versus that now famous Scranton, Pennsylvania, producer made famous last September by the Shapiro-Zelensky "signing" are wildly different. One needs troops to fight, troops to support troops -- "tooth to tail" -- but also personnel to manufacture war materiel to "feed" the fight. Likely that the Russians are not being paid anything like the Scranton plant employees.
To: george76
Putin’s ponzi scheme of sorts.
The Brits freeze and confiscate Russian money in their financial institutions and the Krauts make up for it with doing business with the Ruskis.
Euroweenies, the right hand taketh and the left hand giveth away.
17 posted on 03/03/2025 8:12:17 AM PST by Biblebelter
To: george76
G7+ countries imported EUR 18 bn worth of oil products from six refineries in India and Turkey of which an estimated EUR 9 bn was refined from Russian crude. Their imports of oil products made from Russian crude generated an estimated EUR 4 bn in tax revenues for Russia....Stronger sanctions countering Russian circumventions and targeted towards growing revenue streams can slash Russian fossil fuel export revenues by EUR 51 bn annually, effectively cutting earnings by 20%.
And, destroy the economies of multiple countries in Europe.
Doubling down on a sanction war is political suicide for politicians in Europe.
Forcing Ukraine to end the war with any deal it can get and ending the sanction war is what is best for the citizens of the EU.
18 posted on 03/03/2025 9:11:56 AM PST by Kazan
To: george76
Biden did as well by drying up US oil and gas supplies.
To: george76
President Trump warned them in his last term and they laughed at him. Now they expect us to bail them out for their own stupidity and still want to attack us and make us the bad guys. George Washington warned us...
In his 1796 Farewell Address, George Washington warned against foreign entanglements and urged the United States to maintain neutrality. Washington’s policy was based on his belief that the country should focus on its own needs and interests.
Washington’s advice
Avoid permanent alliances with foreign nations
Instead, rely on temporary alliances for emergencies
Set aside personal likes and dislikes of foreign nations
Be friendly and open commerce to all nations
Avoid becoming involved in foreign wars
Honor existing international treaties, but do not extend them
Advocate free trade with all nations
Washington’s reasoning
Washington’s advice was based on his own experiences, knowledge of the costs of war, and his fear that political parties would involve the United States in foreign conflicts. He believed that the United States should be an example to other nations of justice and benevolence.
Washington’s advice against joining permanent alliances influenced American foreign policy for over a century and a half.
20 posted on 03/03/2025 9:26:07 AM PST by packrat35 (Pureblood! No clot shot for me!)
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