BRUSSELS — Europe is buying Russian gas at an unprecedented rate in 2025, spending billions of dollars the Kremlin can use to fund its war in Ukraine just weeks after the end of a major transit agreement raised hopes the continent may break its dependency on Moscow.
Data collected by commodities intelligence firm Kpler and analyzed by POLITICO reveals that in the first 15 days of 2025, the European Union’s 27 countries imported 837,300 metric tons of liquefied natural gas from Russia.
That marks a record high, up from the 760,100 tons brought in during the same period last year, fueling concerns that Western nations aren’t doing enough to squeeze Russian funds as Moscow’s war enters its fourth year.
The numbers come after a landmark agreement allowing Russia to pump gas to the EU via pipelines running across Ukraine ended on Jan. 1, with Kyiv saying it would not negotiate an extension. That’s put more pressure on countries to buy seaborne LNG, delivered by tanker from Russian ports.