Why did the EU increase gas imports from Russia in 2026? <\/p>\n
European Union countries have increased imports of Russian liquefied natural gas from the Arctic project “Yamal LNG.” This occurred against the backdrop of declining global supplies due to the energy crisis in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the Financial Times.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Read also: <\/strong>Russia doubled its oil revenues in a month: how much money the budget received from the price surge<\/p>\n Dynamics of supplies and EU expenses<\/p>\n According to FT, citing the research group Kpler, imports from the Siberian project “Yamal LNG” increased by 17% in the first quarter<\/strong> compared to the same period last year, reaching 5 million tons. In March alone, the countries of the bloc received 1.8 million tons of fuel.<\/p>\n According to estimates by the organization Urgewald, the total expenses of EU member states for purchasing gas from this plant in the first three months of the year amounted to approximately 2.88 billion euros<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The increase in expenses is attributed to a spike in average European gas prices in March to 52.87 euros per MWh.<\/p>\n Reasons for the increase in imports<\/p>\n The main factor that prompted Europe to turn to Russian resources was instability in the Middle East<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Due to damage to infrastructure and Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, supplies of Qatari LNG have significantly decreased.<\/p>\n Additionally, internal restrictions within the EU have influenced the situation:<\/p>\n “All the figures show Russia’s dependence on the European market,” notes Urgewald activist Sebastian Retters.<\/p>\n\n