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April 21, data showed that Russia’s crude oil exports decreased by about 35,000 barrels per day to 3.4 million barrels per day from the previous week. However, overall shipping exports increased by 72,000 barrels per day to million barrels per day when calculated using a four-week average, reaching its highest level in 10 months. Despite the Russian government’s claim to have reduced production, there are no signs of a decline in crude oil exports from Russia. Since Russia’s special military operation against Ukraine, the international community has strongly opposed and condemned this action. The United States, one of the world’s largest countries, has implemented multiple sanctions in an attempt to force Russia to withdraw its troops and restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity. However, these sanctions have had little impact on Russia’s energy sales. Currently, EU countries remain important energy import markets for Russia. After the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russian oil still entered the EU market through other means. On the one hand, Russia used its ports in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean to export oil to the EU by sea, bypassing Ukraine. On the other hand, Russia also used pipelines in Belarus and Turkey to transport oil to the EU by land. These measures have enabled Russia to maintain its influence and competitiveness in the EU energy market despite pressure from Western sanctions. In other words, the EU has only taken a longer route and spent more money to buy Russian oil. EU countries are highly dependent on energy imports from Russia to meet their industrial and domestic needs. It may not be easy for the US to cut off Europe’s dependence on Russia.
