EU-Russia trade at an all-time low, imports plummeted 86 per cent since the start of the war

Brussels – The decline in economic relations between the European Union and Russia continues. According to the latest data published by Eurostat, trade between the EU and the Russian Federation has contracted drastically since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine: between the first quarter of 2022 and the same period of 2025, European imports of goods from Moscow fell by 86 per cent, the lowest value recorded since September 1999.

With exports of European products to Russia rising very slightly in the last four months (+0.62 per cent) after the slump that started in 2022, the EU trade balance with the country thus reached EUR 0.8 billion, down sharply from the all-time high of €46.6 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2022. Russia’s shares in extra-EU trade have been gradually shrinking since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, with the share of exports to Russia falling from 3.2 to 1.1 per cent in three years, while the share of imports plummeted from 9.3 to 1.3 per cent over the same period.

A key ingredient of the change in trade is the energy sector: High gas and oil prices in 2021 and 2022 generated a heavy deficit. However, thanks to sanctions, import restrictions, and falling prices, the energy deficit was reduced to €5.8 billion in Q1 2025 from €42.8 billion in 2022. In particular, liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, which had experienced a peak between Q1 2021 and Q2 2022, have dropped dramatically in recent years, to reach a share of 19 per cent in Q1 2025. To meet the demand for LNG, the EU turned to the United States, which became the largest supplier in 2025, with a 48 per cent share. In the case of natural gas in gaseous form, Russia’s share fell from 48 to 17 per cent between Q1 2021 and Q1 2025, with a concomitant increase in the share of Norway (which gained 11 per cent) and Algeria, which became the largest supplier with 30 per cent.

The largest European partners in natural gas trade between 2021 and 2025 (Source: Eurostat)

The oil sector has undergone a radical change. In the first quarter of 2021, Russia was the largest supplier of petroleum oils to the EU, with a share of 29 per cent. However, the European ban on maritime imports of Russian crude oil (effective from December 2022) and the subsequent embargo on refined products drastically reduced this share to 2 per cent. At the same time, imports from the United States, Norway, and Kazakhstan increased. Imports of iron and steel also contracted sharply: After an increase in values in 2021 due to high prices, the restrictions introduced led to a slump in volumes. Russia’s share in non-EU iron and steel imports fell by 10 per cent. In 2025, South Korea and China took the lead among suppliers with 10 per cent each. Despite the sanctions environment, Russia remained the largest fertiliser exporter to the EU, a sector that is still without restrictions. Its share only decreased from 28 to 26 per cent in four years.

On the European exports side, the most noticeable declines were recorded in four of the five main categories: machinery, vehicles, electrical equipment and plastics. The only exception: pharmaceutical products, which reached €2.35 billion in the first quarter of 2025, remaining stable compared to 2021 and just below the peak of 2023 (€2.48 billion). According to Eurostat, these trends reflect the combined impact of sanctions, market dynamics, and trade diversification strategies adopted by the EU in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine.