More than twenty countries continue to purchase fossil fuels from the Russian Federation, despite the full-scale war against Ukraine, international sanctions, and reputational risks. As of June 2025, these countries have collectively paid Russia over 600 billion euros for energy resources since the onset of aggression in 2022.
This is reported by Бізнес • Медіа
China, EU, and India — Major Consumers of Russian Energy Resources
The top three importers are China, the European Union, and India. China has provided the largest revenue for Russia, spending 253.1 billion euros on oil, gas, and coal. The EU spent 209.4 billion euros, while India spent 138.7 billion euros. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, these three markets have generated the primary financial flow for the Russian energy sector.
Import Structure and Positions of Individual Countries
- China maintains its leadership in oil imports (182.6 billion euros) and coal (36.8 billion euros), and ranks second in gas purchases (33.8 billion euros).
- The European Union remains the main buyer of Russian gas: over three years, EU countries spent more than 102 billion euros on pipeline gas and LNG.
- India has nearly matched Europe in oil purchases, spending 103.9 billion euros compared to the 123.3 billion spent by EU countries.
In addition to these countries, among the buyers of Russian energy resources are Turkey (103.6 billion euros), Germany (28.6 billion euros), as well as Hungary, South Korea, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Slovakia, Belgium, Japan, the UAE, Singapore, and others.
“Despite sanctions, energy statements, and reputational risks, over 20 countries continued to actively import Russian fossil fuels following the start of the full-scale war by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in 2022.”