Europe slashes Russian imports by 86% after invasion of Ukraine
Photo: EU cuts imports from Russia (Getty Images)
Since the start of the war, EU trade with Russia has fallen significantly, but oil, gas, and fertilizers continue to be supplied. India has increased its purchases of oil and coal, according to Reuters.
EU imports from Russia fell sharply
According to Eurostat, imports from Russia fell by 86% between the first quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2025.
In the first quarter of 2025, deliveries of goods from Russia to the EU amounted to €8.74 billion ($10.11 billion), compared to €30.58 billion four years ago. The main items of import remain oil, nickel, gas, fertilizers, iron, and steel.
Energy resources, fertilizers, and metal
Russia's share of oil supplies to the EU fell from 28.74% in 2021 to 2.01% in 2025. Import volumes fell from €14.06 billion to €1.48 billion.
Imports of Russian gas fell from 48% to 17%, and iron and steel from 18.28% to 7.71%. Russia remains the largest supplier of fertilizers, although its share has fallen from 28.15% to 25.62%.
US reduced imports from Russia
According to data from the US Census Bureau, imports of goods from Russia to the US fell from $14.14 billion in 2021 to $2.5 billion in the first half of 2025.
Since the beginning of 2022, the US has imported $24.51 billion worth of Russian products. In 2024, the US purchased about $1.27 billion worth of Russian fertilizers, $624 million worth of enriched uranium and plutonium, and $878 million worth of palladium.
India increased purchases from Russia
In response to US President Donald Trump's criticism of the increase in Russian oil supplies, India accused the West of double standards. New Delhi pointed out that the EU and the US continue to purchase products from Russia.
Unlike the EU, India increased imports from Russia from $8.25 billion in 2021 to $65.7 billion in 2024, according to the Indian Ministry of Commerce.
The main driver of growth was oil, which rose from $2.31 billion in 2021 to $52.2 billion in 2024. Coal supplies increased from $1.12 billion to $3.5 billion, and fertilizers from $483 million to $1.67 billion.
US President Donald Trump said on August 5 that he would raise tariffs on Indian imports within the next 24 hours. "I'm going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours because they're buying Russian oil. They're fueling the war machine," he said.
The Indian rupee fell to a historic low amid threats of sanctions from the US. Before the war against Ukraine, India purchased only 2% of its oil from Moscow. Now, Russian oil accounts for 35% of India's imports.
