Three EU countries spent more on Russian LNG than on aid to Ukraine

France, Belgium and Spain spent €34.3 billion on Russian LNG from February 2022 to June 2025.

At the same time, their combined support for Ukraine during this time amounted to €21.2 billion, according to the Greenpeace report.

According to the organization, in the first half of 2025, the EU imported a total of 12.8 billion cubic meters of Russian LNG, which is 67% more than in the first half of 2021.

The main supplier of Russian liquefied gas to Europe is the Yamal LNG company. According to Greenpeace, in 2022-2024 it received €34 billion in revenue and paid about €8 billion in taxes to the Russian budget.

This money, according to estimates, would be enough to purchase 270,000 Shahed kamikaze drones, which the Russian Federation is actively using against Ukraine.

At the same time, the EU is increasing gas imports from the US: if in 2021 its share was 28% of the total volume of LNG, then in 2024 it will be 45%.

It should be noted that before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, Russian gas (pipeline and liquefied) provided about 45% of Europe’s energy needs. After 2022, the EU is trying to reduce dependence on Russian energy carriers.

As a reminder, in September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU intends to ban imports of Russian LNG from January 1, 2027 – a year earlier than initially planned. The decision was the result of pressure from US President Donald Trump, who called on the EU to reduce purchases of Russian energy carriers more quickly.