Author: Timothy Jones

Germany Has Purchased the Most Energy From Russian Since Ukraine War Began: Study

Russian fossil fuel exports are undermining sanctions imposed on the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine, a study says. Germany and the EU remain the biggest buyers of Russian energy.


Figures compiled by an independent research group show that Germany has been the biggest single-country buyer of Russian energy in the first two months since the war in Ukraine began.

The study published by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) calculates that Russia has earned €63 billion ($66.5 billion) from fossil fuel exports since February 24.

The researchers worked out that Germany alone paid Russia about €9.1 billion ($9.65 billion) for fossil fuel deliveries in the two months following the start of Moscow’s invasion.

Germany has faced strong criticism for its reliance on Russian gas and oil despite allies’ warning for many years that this could prove a danger to European security.

According to the study – titled ‘Financing Putin’s War on Europe’ – the second biggest single-country importer of Russia’s fossil fuels since the invasion began is Italy (€6.9 billion), followed by China (€6.7 billion).

Also read: EU President Highlights Green Energy Cooperation to Reduce Dependence on Russian Oil

“Fossil fuel exports are a key enabler of Russia’s military build-up and brutal aggression against Ukraine,” the study’s authors said.

What else did the study show?

The European Union was the main importer of Russian fossil fuel, accounting for 71% or around €44 billion of Russia’s export revenue in the sector, CREA’s data showed.

The CREA also found that many fossil fuel companies also continued to do high volumes of trade with Russia, including BP, Shell, Total and ExxonMobil.

The study showed that Russia’s export volumes were falling as sanctions began to bite, but that the increase in fossil fuel prices was cushioning the effect on Moscow’s revenues.

CREA recommended that governments and corporations end all purchases to “help end the war and the crimes against humanity committed by the Russian military.”

It also said governments should come up with plans to move away from fossil fuels completely rather than just coming up with other sources for them, saying that moving to clean energy would have “far greater economic, health and national security benefits.”

For the study, researchers used data on ship movements, real-time tracking of gas flows through pipelines and estimates based on past monthly trade.

This article was originally published on DW.

Next Flu Pandemic ‘a Matter of When, Not If,’ Says WHO

“We must be vigilant and prepared – the cost of a major influenza outbreak will far outweigh the price of prevention,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.


The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday outlined a global plan for fighting influenza and trying to prevent or slow any worldwide outbreak of the viral disease, warning that the danger of a pandemic was “ever-present”.

“The question is not if we will have another pandemic, but when,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement on the WHO website. “We must be vigilant and prepared – the cost of a major influenza outbreak will far outweigh the price of prevention.”

Among other things, Dr Tedros warned of the risk that a new influenza virus could transmit from animals to humans to trigger such a pandemic.

“With the partnerships and country-specific work we have been doing over the years, the world is better prepared than ever before for the next big outbreak, but we are still not prepared enough,” he said. “This strategy aims to get us to that point.”

The WHO said there were an estimated 1 billion cases of flu each year, resulting in 290,000 to 650,000 respiratory deaths.

Strengthening national capacities

An image of the H1N1 influenza virus. Credit: CDC

An image of the H1N1 influenza virus. Credit: CDC

The UN recommends annual vaccinations to combat the disease, particularly for people working in health care and high-risk groups such as the old, the very young and those suffering from underlying illnesses.

The plan aims to build stronger national capacities to fight the disease, calling on countries to each have a special influenza program. It also wants to develop better tools for preventing, detecting, controlling and treating the disease and make these tools accessible for all countries. Anti-flu measures include vaccines and antiviral drugs.

The world’s last flu pandemic was in 2009 and 2010 and was caused by the H1N1 virus. At least one in five people across the world is thought to have been infected, with a mortality rate of around 0.02%, amounting to 18,500 deaths in 214 countries.

This article was originally published on DW. Read the original article here.