Germany got $9 billion worth energy from Russia since Ukraine invasion: Report

Germany has purchased Russian energy worth $9.1 billion since Ukraine was invaded on February 24, 2022, an individual research report has revealed. Western alliances have collectively called to minimise trade with Russia and piled on sanctions on Moscow.

A research report published by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said that Russia earned roughly 63 billion euros ($66.5 billion) from the energy trade since the start of the invasion.

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The second spot on the list was taken by Italy (6.9 billion euros), followed by China (6.7 billion euros), according to reports from Associated Press citing the research.

The research institute used data to map the movements of ships, track gas flows through pipelines and also considered historical monthly trade to get an estimate of the energy trade.

Germany has faced strong criticism for its reliance on Russian fossil fuels despite warnings from allies that this could endanger its own and European security.

According to experts cited by Associated Press, the figures presented in the new search could be true to an extent as there has been a sharp increase in oil prices in Germany.

Last year Germany paid about 100 billion euros in total for imports of oil, coal and gas — a quarter of which went to Russia, senior energy expert Claudia Kemfert told Associated Press.

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Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed back last year against Washington DC’s efforts to sanction a Russian gas pipeline to Germany, a decision strongly backed by her successor, Olaf Scholz, whose Social Democratic Party has long advocated energy cooperation with Russia.  

“As long as Germany continues to buy fossil fuels, whether from Russia or other autocracies, it undermines both its own credibility and its energy security”,  German Institute for Economic Research’s Kemfert told Associated Press.