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Fact check: Does the EU import more from Russia than it gives Ukraine in aid?

Sweden's foreign minister claimed last week that Europe has imported more from Russia during the war than it has spent supporting Ukraine. A review of the numbers suggests she is right.

READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/11/25/fact-check-does-the-eu-import-more-from-russia-than-it-gives-ukraine-in-aid

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00:00Does the EU import more from Russia than it gives Ukraine in aid?
00:07Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malma Senegard has claimed that since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022,
00:15EU imports from Russia have exceeded aid sent to Kiev.
00:18The European countries and Europe has supported Ukraine with 187 billion euros.
00:25We have imported Russian oil and gas to an amount of 201 billion euros.
00:34And then if you add the other imports, then the total is 311 billion euros.
00:44Senegar's 187 billion euros aid figure from EU member states matches the European Commission's numbers.
00:50According to the Kiel Institute's data from August, EU members and EU institutions have sent 150 billion euros,
00:57while Europe as a whole, including non-EU members like Norway, has sent 177 billion euros in aid to Ukraine.
01:04This rises to 273 billion euros when future aid commitments are tallied in.
01:09Despite sweeping sanctions and the goal of phasing out Russian energy imports,
01:13EU member states have imported more than 216 billion euros in Russian fossil fuels since 2022.
01:19According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
01:22The total rises to 297 billion euros if other products such as fertiliser are included, according to August Eurostat data.
01:30Although the EU is negotiating a ban on Russian liquid natural gas imports by 2028, for now it remains its top buyer.
01:38Based on the European Commission's figures, Senegar's statement is broadly accurate,
01:43meaning that the EU's total imports from Russia appear to outweigh aid to Ukraine.
01:47However, if you include costs incurred from hosting Ukrainian refugees,
01:51as well as future financial pledges to support the war, the gap narrows.
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