The European Union has suffered export losses of 48 billion euros since it imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia following the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, according to Eurostat data.

EU exports to Russia totaled 25 billion euros in the period from January to October 2025, compared with 73 billion euros in the same period of 2021, according to Eurostat.

While the EU has pledged to phase out Russian gas imports by 2027, Russia remains its second-largest gas supplier. Its share of EU gas purchases stood at 15.1 percent, down from 39 percent in 2021.

Russian energy giant Gazprom has recently warned that multiple EU member states could face a natural gas shortage crisis amid a sharp drop in the bloc's gas storage levels.

(Cover: European Union flags fly in front of the Berlaymont building in Brussels, Belgium, July 28, 2025. /VCG)