Vitaly shevchenko
Russian editor, BBC surveillance
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In the fourth year of a full-scale invasion, Russia is still making billions for the war with Ukraine by selling fossil fuels overseas
Russia continues to make billions from fossil fuel fuel exports to the west, data show, helping to fund Ukraine’s full-scale invasion in its fourth year.
Since the invasion began in February 2022, Russia has made more than three times more money by exporting hydrocarbons than Ukraine received with aid allocated by its allies.
Data analyzed by the BBC show that Ukraine’s western allies paid Russia more for hydrocarbons than they gave assistance to Ukraine.
Actors say that European and North American governments need to do more to stop Russian oil and gas from promoting war with Ukraine.
How much is Russia still making?
The revenues from oil and gas sales are key to maintaining Russian war machinery.
Oil and gas account for almost a third of the revenues of Russian states and over 60% of exports.
The invasion in February 2022 led to Ukrainian allies imposed sanctions on Russian hydrocarbons. The US and the UK banned Russian oil and gas, while the EU banned Russian seaborne imports from crude oil, but gas was not banned.
Nevertheless, by May 29, Russia had acquired more than 883 million euros ($973 million, £740 billion) from fossil fuel exports since the start of the full-scale invasion, including 228 billion euros from sanctioned states, according to the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research (CREA).
The majority of that amount was 29 billion euros, coming from EU member states.
The EU state continues to import pipeline gas directly from Russia until Ukraine cut its transport in January 2025, with Russian crude oil still being piped to Hungary and Slovakia.
Russian gas is piped to Europe in more and more volumes through turkeys. CREA data shows that the volume increased by 26.77% in January and February 2025 over the same period in 2024.
Hungary and Slovakia still receive Russian pipeline gas via Türkiye.
Despite Western efforts, in 2024, Russia’s revenue from fossil fuels fell by just 5% compared to 2023, with similar 6% dropping in exports according to the CREA. Additionally, last year, Russia’s revenues from crude oil exports increased by 6%, while revenues from pipeline gas increased by 9% year-on-year.
Russia estimates show that gas exports to Europe increased by up to 20% in 2024, with liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports reaching record levels. Currently, half of Russia’s LNG exports go to the EU, says Crea.
Kaja Kallas, head of foreign policy for the EU, says the alliance does not impose “the strongest sanctions” on Russian oil and gas. Because some member states fear conflict escalation and buying them is “cheap in the short term.”
LNG imports are not included in the latest 17th sanctions package for Russia approved by the EU, but they adopt a roadmap to end all Russian gas imports by the end of 2027.
Data show that the money Russia has received from selling fossil fuels consistently outweighs the amount of Ukrainian aid it receives from its allies.
A thirst for fuel can interfere with Western efforts to limit Russia’s ability to fund wars.
Mai Rossner, a senior campaigner for the Pressure Group’s global witness, says many Western policymakers fear that cutting Russian fuel imports could lead to rising energy prices.
“Many governments don’t have a real desire to actually limit Russia’s ability to produce and sell oil. There’s a great deal of fear about what that means for the global energy market. There’s a line drawn that the energy market is too damaging or throwing too many quilters,” she told the BBC.
“Refining loopholes”
In addition to direct sales, some of the oil exported by Russia ends up in the West after being processed into fuel products in third countries via what is known as “refining loopholes.” It may also be diluted with crude oil from other countries.
Crea says it has identified three “laundry refineries” in Turkey, processed three Russian crude oil in India and sold the resulting fuel to sanctioned countries. They say they used 6.1 billion euros of Russian crude oil to make products for the sanctioned state.
India’s oil ministry criticized Klee’s report as “a deceptive effort to undermine India’s image.”
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Western countries, including the UK, import Russian fossil fuels from “coin laundry refineries.”
“[These countries] Know that sanctioned states are willing to accept this. This is a loophole. It’s completely legal. Everyone knows it, but nobody actually does a lot to tackle it in a big way,” says Vaibhav Raghunandan, analyst at Crea.
Actors and experts argue that Western governments have tools and tools to halt the flow of oil and gas revenues to the Kremlin’s financial resources.
Now, Vladimir Mirov, former Russian deputy energy minister, who is a stubborn opponent of Vladimir Putin, says sanctions imposed on Russian hydrocarbon trade must better implement the oil price caps adopted, particularly by the G7 state group.
But he fears that US government reforms launched by President Donald Trump will hamper agencies such as the U.S. Treasury Department and the Bureau of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which are key to enforcement of sanctions.
Another path places continued pressure on the Russian “shadow fleet” of tankers involved in evacuating sanctions.
“It’s a complicated surgical procedure. Every few weeks, you need to regularly release batches of new licensed vessels, shell companies, traders, insurance companies and more,” Milov says. He says this is a region where Western governments are far more effective, particularly with the introduction of new sanctions by Joe Biden’s retirement administration in January 2025.
Mai says banning the export of Russian LNG to Europe and closing the refining loophole in Western jurisdictions is “an important step to complete the west separation from Russian hydrocarbons.”
According to CREA’s Raghunandan, it is relatively easy for the EU to abandon Russian LNG imports.
“50% of their LNG exports are directed towards the European Union, with only 5% of the total in the EU being [LNG] Gas consumption in 2024 was from Russia. So if the EU decides to shut off Russian gas completely, it will hurt Russia more than hurt European Union consumers,” he told the BBC.
Trump’s oil price plan to end the war
An expert interviewed by the BBC dismissed Donald Trump’s idea that if OPEC lowers oil prices, the war with Ukraine would end.
“The people in Moscow are laughing at this idea because the party that suffers the most is the American shale oil industry, the world’s least cost-competitive oil industry,” Milov told the BBC.
Ragnandan said that the cost of producing Russian crude oil is lower than in OPEC countries like Saudi Arabia, so it will be hurt by the falling oil prices before Russia.
“There’s no way Saudi Arabia can agree to that. This has been tried before. This has led to a conflict between Saudi Arabia and the US,” he says.
Rossner says there are moral and practical issues with the West purchasing Russian hydrocarbons while supporting Ukraine.
“We have a situation now where we are funding invaders in wars that we are denounced and fund resistance to war,” she says. “This reliance on fossil fuels means we are truly on the whims of energy markets, global energy producers, and hostile dictators.”
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