According to data from Rystad Energy, European ports received 17.8 million tons of Russian LNG in 2024, a 2 million ton increase from the previous year.
Jan-Eric Fähnrich, a gas analyst at Rystad Energy, stated that LNG flows are not just increasing but are at “record levels.”
The report highlights that while Europe has significantly reduced its pipeline imports of Russian gas since the start of the Ukraine war, it has increasingly purchased LNG from various countries, including Russia. In 2024, Russia surpassed Qatar to become the second-largest LNG supplier to Europe, after the United States.
Fähnrich noted that Europe imported 49.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas via pipelines and an additional 24.2 billion cubic meters as LNG in 2024. Some of this LNG will be resold to other countries, he added.
These figures were released just days after Ukraine halted the transit of Russian gas through its pipelines.
Activists argue that the EU is undermining its support for Ukraine and its own climate goals by continuing to pay Russia for fuel that emits planet-warming particles when burned.
Data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea), which slightly differs from Rystad’s figures, showed that EU imports of Russian LNG amounted to €7.32 billion ($7.54 billion) in 2024. Crea found a 14% annual increase in volume, leading to an import total of 17.5 million tons.
“The reason for the rise is fairly simple,” said Vaibhav Raghunandan, a Russia analyst at Crea. “Russian LNG is offered at a discount to alternative suppliers … With no sanctions imposed on the commodity, companies are operating in their own self-interest and buying increasing quantities of gas from the cheapest supplier.”
“Ukrainian activists argue the sanctions regime is being undermined by ‘glaring loopholes’ that still let Russia fund its war machine with fossil fuel revenues,” the article reads.
“The record levels of Russian LNG imports in 2024 are a stark reminder that the EU must act decisively to close the remaining loopholes in its sanctions regime,” said Svitlana Romanko, founder of Razom We Stand, a Ukrainian climate action group. “We are up to 15 sanctions packages now, and a full ban on Russian LNG imports is urgently needed to stop funding Putin’s war chest.”
Tthe transit agreement between Gazprom and Naftogaz expired on Jan. 1, 2025, leading Ukraine to halt the transit of Russian gas through its territory. The transportation of Russian gas has been stopped from the entry point at Sudzha on Ukraine’s northern border to the exit points on its western and southern borders.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the halt, calling it one of Russia’s biggest defeats. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that Ukraine has deprived Russian dictator Vladimir Putin of one of his last levers of influence over Europe.
Advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that the Moscow empire has lost the ability to manipulate politicians and entire countries.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal earlier announced a new model for the operation of Ukraine’s gas transmission system.
The European Commission commented on the halt, stating that the EU’s gas infrastructure is sufficiently flexible.
However, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico claimed that the halt in Russian gas transit through Ukraine would have serious consequences for EU members, but not for Russia.
Meanwhile, Western media reported that Russia would likely target Ukrainian gas infrastructure following the transit halt.
Fuente: The New Voice of Ukraine
