Business Insider: Russian fuel sales cover the cost of hostilities in Ukraine

The main importer of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in July and August of 2022 was Spain, Business Insider said with reference to the report from the Research Center for Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

In two months, Spain paid 747 million euros (45.2 billion rubles) for Russian LNG. France, China, Belgium and Japan follow Spain as largest buyers of Russian LNG.

CREA Chief Analyst Lauri Myllyvirta said that Spain increased purchases of LNG against the background of heat waves and drought. Many Spaniards used air conditioners and fans this summer, which caused prices on electricity to rise. In July and August, 35 percent of electricity was generated in Spain by burning natural gas.

Since the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine in late February, Russia has earned 158 billion euros (9.6 trillion rubles) from fossil fuel exports, the report said. Russia's earnings from fuel sales thus cover the cost of the hostilities, which, according to experts, amounted to about 100 billion euros.

The European Union became the largest importer of Russian energy resources in the last six months (85 billion euros). The list continues with:

• China (35 billion euros),
• Turkey (11 billion euros),
• India (7 billion euros),
• South Korea (2 billion euros).

Among European countries, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Poland became the leaders in imports. Russia's revenues from fuel sales abroad have contributed about 43 billion euros (2.6 trillion rubles) to the Russian federal budget, Business Insider said.

On September 2, the G7 states have decided to cap prices for Russian oil, and currently discuss a similar measure in relation to natural gas. According to the Joe Biden administration, capping prices on the Russian oil would cause world energy prices to decline.

Russian officials believe otherwise, though. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) on September 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the wish of the Western countries to cap Russian oil prices an "utterly stupid" intention. According to Putin, prices on fuel will soar afterwards.