The delayed impact of wartime EU sanctions on Russia – POLITICO

The EU was quick to hit Russia with sanctions after Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine – but it took time and an escalation of measures before Moscow started to feel real damage .

Since the start of the war in late February last year, November was the first month in which the value of EU imports from Russia was lower than in the same month of 2021. Until then, the bloc had sent more money than before the conflict – every month, for nine months. More recent data is not yet available.

The main reason behind this? Energy dependence on Russia and soaring energy prices. But that’s not all: some EU countries were much quicker than others to reduce trade flows with Moscow – and others were still increasing them at the end of last year.

Here’s a full breakdown of how the war has changed EU trade with Russia, in numbers and charts: