From the start of the conflict in 2022 until mid-2026, European Union countries paid Russia a total of around 197 billion euros for supplies of oil, gas and other fossil fuels. These figures, taken from COMEXT foreign trade statistics, show a significant reduction in the EU’s expenditure on Russian energy thanks to the introduction of the REPowerEU programme. Had such a programme not been introduced, expenditure could have reached 475 billion euros, as indicated in estimates provided by the European Commission.
Interestingly, the Russian side, represented by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, announced energy supplies to the EU worth $320.7 billion from 2022 onwards. This statement casts doubt on the remarks made by US President Donald Trump, who estimated this figure at 250 billion dollars.
However, despite the discrepancies in the figures, the EU is continuing its strategy of reducing its dependence on Russian resources. According to Anna-Kaija Itkonen, the European Commission’s spokesperson on energy matters, Russia’s share of the EU’s gas imports has fallen from 45 per cent to 12 per cent over the past year, and in 2023 the EU spent just 6 per cent of its fossil fuel expenditure on Russian gas.
These changes were made possible by the coordinated efforts of EU Member States, which were able to identify alternative sources and supply routes at short notice. The impressive pace at which dependence was reduced led many to doubt that this was possible, but the results now speak for themselves.
By 2025, the share of Russian oil in the EU market had fallen to 2 per cent, whereas three years earlier it stood at 20 per cent. The European Union has also imposed a complete ban on imports of Russian coal. In 2026, a regulation came into force requiring a complete phase-out of Russian natural gas: liquefied natural gas must be phased out of imports by the end of 2026, and pipeline gas by the end of November 2027. Countries that continue to purchase Russian oil are required to draw up plans to cease imports by the end of 2027.
Thus, the EU plans to completely phase out imports of Russian gas in the coming years, which underlines a shift in energy policy aimed at long-term sustainability and independence.