‘Trading with the Enemy’ – How the EU has propped up Putin, and how the UK has shamed them

With the war’s 3rd anniversary on Monday, Facts4EU reveals what the EU would prefer to keep quiet

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2025

With trade being an ‘exclusive competence’ of the Commission, the UK could never had the led the way without Brexit

Three years on from Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, today’s report shows how – despite supposed sanctions - the European Union has continued to prop up the Putin regime by buying billions of euros of Russia’s products. This has thereby provided him with hugely valuable foreign currency, without which Russia’s economy would have collapsed in a catastrophic manner, much worse than is already the case. It’s highly likely he would have fallen.

This report provides the official EU-Russia trade figures and compares them with the performance of the United Kingdom. In broad terms, the UK has applied sanctions which have been effective, whilst the EU has talked a great deal about applying sanctions but has continued to trade with Russia to a significant degree, albeit at lower levels than before the war started.

With the war’s 3rd anniversary on Monday, Facts4EU reveals how the UK has shamed the EU

Monday (24 Feb 2025) marks the third anniversary of President Putin’s illegal invasion of the sovereign country of Ukraine. This was a major escalation in the pre-existing and oft-forgotten Russo-Ukrainian War, which started in 2014 when Putin’s forces illegally invaded the Crimean peninsula, part of Ukraine.

Ahead of this important anniversary, and with Ukraine making the headlines because of President Trump’s extraordinary intervention this week, the Facts4EU.Org think-tank updates our previous reports on how trade has – or has not – impacted the progress of this war, by presenting the figures on imports and exports since it began.

EU sanctions? What EU sanctions? An explosive analysis of the EU’s support for Putin

We have analysed the EU’s latest trade figures which run to the end of 2024 and they will certainly not please President Zelenskyy. (We will be sending this report to his office in Kjiv.) They show that the EU Commission’s so-called ‘sanctions’ against the Putin regime have not stopped trade between the EU bloc and the Russian Federation.

“And by 24 February, exactly one year since the invasion started, we aim to have the tenth package of sanctions in place.”
- EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Kyiv, Thurs 02 Feb 2023

Putin’s illegal invasion started at the end of February (24 Feb 2022). The EU has produced numerous successive ‘sanctions packages’ in that time, to great fanfare on each occasion. This happened again just before Christmas, with their 25th 'package'. Some might question the length of time it has taken the EU to implement these, given that the third anniversary of the start of this phase of the Russo-Ukraine war takes place on Monday. Below we summarise the limited effect of these EU ‘sanctions’ on EU-Russian trade. We then contrast this with the significantly superior performance by Brexit Britain.

Brexit Britain once again completely outshines the EU

Below we present a comparison between the EU and Brexit Britain when it comes to trade with Russia. As the EU bloc’s numbers are much higher than those of the UK, in the second and third charts we have converted these into percentages, comparing to Q1 2022 when the war started. This shows the relative performances very clearly.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

‘Trading with the Enemy’ – The EU compared to the UK, 2022-2024

1. The EU27 have bought £237bn worth of goods from Putin’s Russia since the war began

[Converted to British pounds (GBP) at £1.00=€1.22]

EU27 : £237.1 bn
UK : £5.2 bn

2. Percentage reduction in goods bought (imports) from Putin’s Russia

3. Percentage reduction in goods sold (exports) to Putin’s Russia

Here is a sobering statistic

The EU27 are currently spending an average of over £2.5 BILLION PER MONTH,
buying goods from Putin’s Russia
and thereby propping up his regime with badly-needed foreign currency.

By contrast, Brexit Britain is spending an average of just £0.006 billion per month.

If the EU had acted instead of pretending to act, Putin would have been in deep trouble

Russia abruptly stopped publishing its international trade data at the end of February 2022, just as its illegal invasion of Ukraine started. However we do know that the EU has been Russia's largest international trade partner by far. In 2020, the EU was Russia's biggest customer, accounting for 37.9% of its goods exports worldwide. 36.5% of Russia’s imports came from the EU. [Source: EU Commission.] It should be noted that this trade was happening SIX YEARS after Putin's first illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2014, when he seized Crimea.

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In 2019, the EU was the largest investor in Russia. The EU foreign direct investment (FDI) outward stock in Russia amounted to €311.4 billion, while Russia’s FDI stock in the EU was estimated at €136 billion.

If the EU had actually acted and cut its trade ties, the Russian economy would have been cut off at the knees. According to a US Congress report, 40% of the Russian economy is based on international trade. There is every prospect that in these circumstances Putin would have been deposed.

The United Kingdom can hold its head high – thanks to Brexit

Without Brexit, the UK could not have pursued its own sanctions. International trade and the rules surrounding it are the exclusive preserve of the EU Commission. As a result of Brexit, however, the UK Government was able to act swiftly and decisively - unlike the EU - as can be seen from the charts above.

Observations

Since the start of Putin's (second) illegal invasion of Ukraine the Commission has put out a stream of statements which are worthy of the Kremlin. The problem for the Commission is that the facts don't lie - especially when the data comes from the EU itself. Our analysis proves beyond any doubt that the EU continues to prop up Putin's Russia, with almost €290 billion euros paid to Russia for imports (and these are not all for gas) in the last three years.

Not only that but EU27 countries have been raking in billions by continuing to export goods in large quantities to Russia. The Commission might not wish all of this to be known, but Facts4EU.Org's report today is definitive and leaves them with nowhere to hide.

The lumbering, procrastinating EU versus nimble, fast-acting Brexit Britain

Once again we have shown a major benefit to the UK which has come about thanks to Brexit. Without the new-found independence, the UK government could not have acted so quickly in response to President Putin’s illegal invasion.

Where the UK acted very quickly with sanctions – and sanctions which clearly worked well – the EU countries have been caught in the bureaucratic merry-go-round which passes for normality in Brussels. Had all EU countries been able to act as Britain did, the current conflict in Ukraine might now look very different.

Please, please help us to carry on our vital work in defence of independence, sovereignty, democracy and freedom by donating today. Thank you.

[ Sources: EU Commission (Eurostat) | UK Office for National Statistics ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Fri 21 Feb 2025

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Reader Comments 22

1. Ashley Great Britain , Friday, February 21, 2025, 07:41:

The question is how did Putin know that the EU would continue inter trade after the invasion, which would have been essential to the invasion. There would have been lots of planning, they're wrong to invade but not stupid.

2. Parky , Friday, February 21, 2025, 09:39:

Thanks for highlighting what a relatively easy time they have given Putin whilst doing their utmost to isolate the UK. You would have thought that a mutually beneficial deal on defence with this island should be easy to negotiate without trying to cherry pick fishing and youth mobility as well - true friends and allies. (I'm talking politicians not the people)
So pleased that we are not paying them to fudge everything and issue worthless statements - almost as if they are run by committee.
Surely Starmer won't agree to be dependent on them for arms supply - I'd rather team up with international players.
I've said UK but I'm aware a majority in Scotland would rather have it's 13 seats (approx) in a "parliament" of 720 seats somewhere in Brussels and sometimes in Strasbourg, than 57 seats in a parliament of 650 seats in London.

3. Mike S , Friday, February 21, 2025, 10:34:

2 Parky:- With respect, I feel the need to correct you slightly. You're correct in saying a lot of Scots are of the mindset as you stated but, the vast majority of those Scots are SNP supporters who don't give a hang for the unity of the UK or our sovereignty but they are the ones whose voices are given the most coverage. There is a lot of support up here for the UK being united but our problem is that although there is that support here, it's too spread out among the other political parties where the anti-UK supporters have, congregated, essentially, with the SNP.
There's a lot of support for Reform UK here & it's growing more & more each & every week.
I understand the, tarring of the same brush, sentiment but truly is not the case up here.
Cheers mate.

4. Ashley Great Britain , Friday, February 21, 2025, 11:00:

3 Mike S.
-
Good. Let's hope most Scots vote Reform uk then.
-
2 Parky.
-
The EU commission are only friends with the Woke Blob, no one else.

5. Gazzablack , Friday, February 21, 2025, 11:08:

2, parky
.
It is a fallacy that the SNP would prefer to have representation in the EU parliament than in Westminster, It is the Scottish NATIONAL party.
It wants independence from both Westminster AND the EU.
.
It's professed love of the EU is merely a manufactured grievance with which it can justify it's independence aims.
.
Prior to Brexit the SNP voted against everything EU
.

6. Parky , Friday, February 21, 2025, 11:42:

On the Scottish point I stand corrected - in the nicest possible way.
I try not to tar with the same brush but have fallen into the trap again.

7. LuxuryBalloon , Friday, February 21, 2025, 14:43:

That a weak and divided EU is struggling to stand up against Putin can’t be a big surprise to anyone. But I was flabbergasted to see Trump and Musk sucking up to Putin. It just shows how low the USA has sunk over the last 10 years.

8. Sparky , Friday, February 21, 2025, 17:39:

It is mainly gas that is bought from Russia which is a legacy of the old eastern block countries being reliant on gas supplies. Some of these countries also have a generous level of support for Russia as part of that legacy. Gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine stopped in January 2025.
.
Brexit has not made any difference to any action the UK has taken against Russia, just as it would not have changed anything in the way the UK reacted to Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya or Syria. If anything its Brexit has played into Putins hands, it’s been advantageous for Europe to have the division of Brexit, influenced by Russia. The UK would have been better placed applying pressure within the EU to have the energy supplies from Russia cut off much sooner.

9. terence patrick hewett , Friday, February 21, 2025, 19:19:

Sanctions don't work. South Africa proved that. SA change was wrought by a political change in SA not by sanctions. The idea that they would change the Roosians is idiocy of the highest order.

10. Gazzablack , Friday, February 21, 2025, 20:11:

8, sparkless
.
It comes under the umbrella of "foreign policy" and EU member states foreign policy is determined by the EU, not the members own governments.
.
Boris would absolutely not have been able to pursue his aggressive stance against Russian imperialism if he were still bound by EU foreign policy rules.
As the saying goes "It's sovereignty innit"?
.
Meanwhile, while exports to Russia from the EU were drastically reduced, the exports of the same goods to Kazakhstan increased by almost an equal amount.
It doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to uncover the real destination of those goods
.
.
Favourite moment of the week?
The sight of the German politician that laughed when Trump pointed out that Germany was becoming too reliant on Russian gas crying when Vance told EU leaders they were denying free speech.
And then another inadvertently reinforcing Vance's point by proclaiming his speech was "unacceptable"

22 comments, page 1 of 3

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