Russia is still fueling Europe, and vice versa

More than two years after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU countries are still buying Russian gas.

A few weeks ago, a video of Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov showing off his black-market Cybertruck, complete with a machine gun mounted in the bed, resulted in mass outrage (alongside a healthy dose of mockery) across social media. Here was proof, the internet in its infinite wisdom decreed, that billionaire shitposter Elon Musk was openly supporting Russia as it continued to pummel Ukraine. The Robert Reich columns practically wrote themselves.

Fast forward to yesterday, when it emerged that the European Union is still buying billions of dollars’ worth of natural gas from Russia, helping finance the war machine subjugating Ukraine, and everyone is like, eh, whaddaya gonna do?

The regime of Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been able to expand its position as an energy supplier to Europe. The EU now imports more from Russia than from the United States, reports Die Welt.

According to the newspaper, for the first time in almost two years, EU countries imported more gas from Russia than from the United States in one quarter. This is evidenced by the data of the Brussels-based consulting company Bruegel.

According to these data, for the quarter from April to June, the EU purchased 12.7 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia, and 12.3 billion from the United States.

Compared to the first quarter of 2024, supplies from Russia decreased slightly, and from the United States - more sharply.

Austria has recently stated that it sees a “huge risk” in the event of a sudden cessation of Russian natural gas supplies. The country stated that it is necessary to get rid of this dependence as soon as possible.

To be fair to the European Union, its member states have diversified their energy suppliers over the past two years.¹ But it’s an extremely slow process for many reasons, including anti-anti-Russia states like Austria and Hungary dragging their feet on sanctions (Austria-Hungary causing trouble? Surely that’s never happened before) and Russian gas which once arrived in Europe via pipeline making its way by sea instead: