Europe’s Dirty Secret: €213 Bn Flow to Russia Despite Sanctions
US President with European leaders at the Oval Office! (Image The White House)
Ex-Kyrgyz Prime Minister Djoomart Otorbaev exposes the EU’s moral paradox — while condemning Moscow’s invasion, Europe remains one of Russia’s biggest trading partners, funneling billions through energy, chemicals, and fertilizer imports.
By TRH Foreign Affairs Desk
New Delhi, October 30, 2025 — Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Djoomart Otorbaev has sharply criticized Europe’s “moral hypocrisy” over its economic ties with Russia, claiming that the European Union has sent more than €213 billion to Moscow since the start of the Ukraine war — despite imposing what it calls “unprecedented sanctions.”
Writing on LinkedIn, Otorbaev cited data from the German Economic Institute (IW) showing that Russia’s exports to its 20 largest partners rose by 18% in 2024 to $330 billion, with the EU ranking as Moscow’s third-largest trading partner after China and India.
“Europe loves moral grandstanding,” Otorbaev wrote, adding: “But behind its rhetoric lies an inconvenient truth — it still trades with Russia extensively, actively, and profitably.”
According to IW data, Germany maintained $9.5 billion in trade with Russia, while France and the Netherlands each recorded $6 billion. “Neutral” Hungary saw a 31% increase in imports to $6.2 billion.
Reuters data further reveals that in the first eight months of 2025, seven EU countries increased imports of Russian energy, with France’s purchases rising 40%, the Netherlands 72%, and Portugal a staggering 167%.
Otorbaev pointed out that EU payments for Russian energy have exceeded €213 billion since the invasion — a figure higher than the bloc’s total financial aid to Ukraine during the same period.
“Europe is financing both sides of the war,” stated the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, as quoted by Otorbaev.
Despite sanctions, Russian LNG still enters Europe through shadow fleets and intermediaries, while pipeline oil continues via the Druzhba network. Meanwhile, EU exports to Russia reached €31.5 billion in 2024, largely in chemicals, machinery, and vehicles. Russia has also expanded its share of the EU fertilizer market from 28% in 2021 to 34% in 2025.
Otorbaev described a growing East-West divide within Europe: “Western Europe wants values; Eastern Europe wants cheap gas. Germany seeks moral leadership, Hungary and Slovakia prefer pragmatism.”
He warned that Moscow’s real strategy is not military victory but political exhaustion — fragmenting Europe economically while exposing its contradictions. “For all the talk of solidarity, the numbers tell a harsher truth: the EU’s ‘values’ come with an energy invoice attached,” Otorbaev wrote, adding: “And every euro that flows east strengthens the very regime Brussels swore to defeat.”
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