Russia continues to ship oil directly to the EU despite sanctions, investigation finds – video

Nearly three years on from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western sanctions designed to weaken the Russian economy have failed to halt its oil exports.

Despite sanctions on Russian oil, the EU paid approximately €140 billion for oil and gas in 2022, including €80 billion for oil, according to the Financial Times. This financial support has enabled Russia to continue funding its military aggression against Ukraine.

Russia's oil revenues are a key source of funding for its war operations, with military spending projected to rise to US$142 billion by 2025.

"We’ll have a full import ban on Russian seaborne oil," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared in May 2022, just two months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Yet an investigation by Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach, who was on the ground in Romania and later Bulgaria to witness shipments arriving first-hand, has revealed that Russian oil was still reaching EU ports in November 2024.

Using data from MarineTraffic, a global platform providing real-time information on ship movements, Ukrainska Pravda tracked two Russian oil tankers as they arrived in EU countries.

Written and presented by: Mykhailo Tkach

Directed by: Andrii Ihnatenko

Director of photography: Yaroslav Bondarenko

Sound engineer: Dmytro Volkovynskyi

Subtitle translation: Theodore Holmes

Subtitle editing: Teresa Pearce