The Guardian called the EU the world's largest buyer of Russian gas

The European Union, despite the policy of anti-Russian sanctions, remains the world's largest buyer of natural gas and LNG from Russia. This was reported on October 26 by The Guardian newspaper.

"The EU remains the largest buyer of Russian LNG, purchasing half of all Russian LNG exports. It is followed by China (22%) and Japan (18%). The block is also the largest buyer of pipeline gas, purchasing 35% of Russian pipeline gas. It is followed by China (30%) and Turkey (29%)," the article says. The newspaper refers to data from the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research (Crea).

According to the publication, in September 2025, Hungary and Slovakia became the largest importers of Russian gas to the EU, purchasing Russian fossil fuels worth €393 million and €207 million, respectively. France, Belgium and the Netherlands also continued to import Russian gas.

United and transparent: Hungary and Slovakia want to be deprived of the right of veto on the issue of sanctions

But this is impossible without changing the basic laws of the EU, the European Parliament says.

Earlier, on October 9, Hungary refused to make exceptions to the proposed European Commission (EC) total ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) from January 2027 as part of the 19th package of sanctions.

On August 29, the head of European diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, called on EU countries to impose secondary sanctions against oil supplies from Russia, which will be similar to restrictions imposed by the United States. On September 12, it was reported that the European Union was finalizing the 19th package of sanctions against Russia. According to Callas, additional measures will be considered regarding the supply of Russian oil, tankers of the "shadow" fleet and banks.

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