Europe keeps buying Russian fuel without any noticeable slowdown with less than 12 months remaining before an EU ban on the import of Russian LNG takes effect. Highlighting the ineffectiveness of existing EU half-measures, including the transshipment ban, Belgium more than doubled its imports from Yamal LNG in 2025, simply keeping LNG 

The European Union spent about 7.2 billion Euro ($7.8 billion) on Russian liquefied natural gas in 2025, keeping imports from the Kremlin’s Arctic flagship Yamal LNG project flowing at an unrelenting pace despite an agreed ban that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, according to analysis by campaign group Urgewald.

The figures, based on Kpler data, underscore how EU buyers appear determined to squeeze every possible cargo out of Yamal LNG before the deadline, even as Brussels touts its political commitment to phase out Russian gas and curb Moscow’s revenues from energy exports following its invasion of Ukraine.

Data compiled by Kpler and analyzed by Urgewald show that EU imports from Yamal LNG in 2025 remained close to record levels and were broadly in line with 2024, when spending on Russian LNG already stood well above pre-war norms.

The 2025 figure is up from roughly €6.3 billion in 2024, highlighting how LNG imports have become an increasingly important outlet for Russian gas as pipeline deliveries collapsed.

“While Brussels celebrates the latest agreement to phase out Russian gas, our ports continue serving as the logistics lung for Russia’s largest LNG terminal Yamal. In the current geopolitical situation, we cannot afford another year of complicity,” said Sebastian Rötters, sanctions campaigner at Urgewald.

The Yamal LNG project, located in Russia’s Arctic and majority-owned by Novatek with foreign partners, has become a cornerstone of Moscow’s gas export strategy. With pipelines to Europe largely shut, LNG cargoes shipped from Yamal have continued to find willing buyers in the EU, benefiting from the absence of a full import ban until 2027.

France has emerged as the bloc’s largest buyer, accounting for 41.7% of EU imports from Yamal LNG through its two main terminals, Dunkirk and Montoir-de-Bretagne, Urgewald said.

Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands were also among the major recipients.

Transshipment ban resulted in more imports

In some respects, partial EU measures have even made matters worse, campaigners argue. A ban on transshipment of Russian LNG via EU ports, designed to prevent cargoes being re-exported onward to third countries, took effect in March 2025.

Before that, Belgium’s Zeebrugge terminal served as a key hub for transferring Yamal LNG cargoes to non-EU destinations.

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