The volume of Russian ligroin imports to Taiwan has significantly increased since 2022, allowing the Russian Federation to gain substantial profits despite international sanctions. According to the Center for Energy Research (CREA) and the Environmental Rights Foundation (ERF), during this period, Taiwan imported Russian petroleum products worth $1.7 billion, which experts estimate would enable Russia to produce around 170,000 “Gerbera” drones.
This is reported by Business • Media
Increase in Supplies and the Impact of Sanctions
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine and until the end of June 2025, Taiwan has purchased 6.8 million tons of ligroin from Russia for $4.9 billion. This accounts for approximately 20% of all exports of this petroleum product from Russia. Compared to the same period in 2024, in the first half of 2025 alone, ligroin imports to Taiwan increased by 44%. During this period, the island nation imported raw petroleum products from Russia worth $1.3 billion, even after joining the sanctions against Moscow.
“Since 2022, the export of Russian petroleum products (ligroin) to Taiwan has increased by almost 500%, providing Russia with $1.7 billion in profits. This amount would be sufficient to produce 170,000 ‘Gerbera’ drones, according to the Center for Energy Research (CREA) and the Environmental Rights Foundation (ERF).”
Comparison with Other Countries
Despite significant support for Ukraine, which has received $50 million in aid from Taiwan since the beginning of the invasion, Taiwan’s cooperation with Russia in the energy sector remains significant in terms of volume and financial flows.
At the same time, India, under increased pressure from the United States, has only slightly reduced its purchases of Russian oil: in September 2025, imports amounted to 1.61 million barrels per day compared to 1.72 million in August, which represents a 16% decline year-on-year.
In the United States, Russia remained the main supplier of nuclear fuel for American nuclear power plants in 2024, providing 20% of the enriched uranium needs. In 2023, this figure reached 27%. Despite the official ban in effect since August 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy has the right to issue individual permits for imports until 2028 in the absence of alternatives or if it aligns with national interests.