India Isn’t the One Funding Russia’s War Chest: Urgewald’s Rotters Highlights EU Role in €7.2B Yamal LNG Trade
✍️ Written by Saket Suman
In a development likely to intensify global scrutiny over energy trade during wartime, a new dataset analyzed by German NGO Urgewald reveals that European Union member states funneled an estimated €7.2 billion to Russia in 2025 alone through imports from the Yamal LNG project.
The findings, backed by Kpler shipping data and released today, show that 76.1% of Yamal LNG exports, roughly one in every seven ships docking at European LNG terminals, were destined for the EU.
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| File Photo; via FNNG Alliance |
Despite a reduction in overall volumes, the EU’s proportional dependence on Yamal gas has deepened, and it casts doubts on Europe’s enforcement of sanctions amid Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
In an exclusive interview to IndianRepublic.in, Urgewald energy campaigner Sebastian Rötters acknowledged the moral paradox at play: “We criticize the LNG import ban decided for early 2027 primarily because the EU has strong leverage here… In our view, the phase-out date is too late, as the EU is wasting another year that could be used to increase pressure on Russia in this area.”
Rötters highlighted France as the largest importer, receiving 41.7% of all EU-bound Yamal shipments in 2025, followed by Belgium’s Zeebrugge terminal. These ports are now critical lifelines for Yamal LNG, which operates in Russia’s Arctic and depends entirely on a small fleet of 14 specialized Arc7 ice-class tankers.
Two European firms—UK-based Seapeak and Greece’s Dynagas—control over 70% of the logistics chain supporting this flow, enabling Moscow’s flagship LNG terminal to continue operating amid wartime isolation.
In a significant warning, Rötters emphasized that this infrastructure support is strategic. “Every cargo that offloads at an EU terminal is a direct deposit into a war chest that fuels the slaughter in Ukraine,” he stated.
From an Indian perspective, the revelations intensify a long-simmering debate about the West’s credibility in pressuring developing economies like India to reduce Russian energy imports.
Since Russia’s conflict with Ukraine in 2022, India has significantly ramped up purchases of discounted Russian crude and coal, drawing sharp criticism from U.S. and European officials.
Asked whether the EU’s ongoing LNG purchases undermine its moral standing when criticizing India, Rötters said: “Undiplomatic and confrontational language toward India seems inappropriate… But it remains incomprehensible why India is acting as a safety valve for Russia by increasing its imports.”
He added that, while India’s energy needs are legitimate, “from the perspective of the people in Ukraine… I cannot understand India's approach to this issue and would like to see India reconsider this policy.”
India has consistently maintained that its energy policy is guided by affordability, availability, and strategic autonomy. But as the EU’s own dependencies come under the spotlight, the gap between rhetoric and reality is growing clearer.
Rötters dismissed the notion that India is being held to a higher standard than the EU, but pointed out a key difference: “The trends in the EU and India are therefore completely opposite. The EU has largely eliminated coal and seaborne oil imports from Russia since 2022. India has increased them.”
Accountability, he argued, lies on both sides. “In the case of Yamal, responsibility for LNG imports lies with the EU. Responsibility for coal and crude oil imports from Russia lies with India.”
The findings have implications for the geopolitical balance of the Arctic, as Europe’s continued reliance on Russia’s Arctic resources contradicts broader commitments to reduce strategic dependency. EU leaders recently declared Arctic security a top priority for transatlantic peace, even as European ports continue serving as Moscow’s most vital logistics artery.
With the 2027 LNG ban deadline looming and new charter contracts for Arc7 vessels under negotiation, the clock is ticking. Rötters warned, “The EU and the UK must ensure that the Arc7 fleet does not fall into the wrong hands… We must stop providing the oxygen for Russia’s energy profits and shut the Yamal loophole now.”
For India, the report provides both a vindication of longstanding concerns and a cautionary tale that energy security can no longer be separated from strategic responsibility.