Fact check: The European Union spent more on Russian Energy last year than they did on Ukraine

1. Summary of the results

The claim appears to be technically accurate but requires important context. According to the Guardian and CECAR, the EU spent €22 billion on Russian energy in 2024, compared to €19 billion in Ukraine support ^[1]. However, this comparison doesn't reflect the full scope of EU support, as total EU institutional aid to Ukraine from January 2022 to December 2024 amounted to €49 billion ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial pieces of context are missing from the original statement:

• Dramatic reduction in Russian energy imports: EU oil and petroleum imports from Russia dropped from 11.4 million metric tons in January 2022 to just 710,000 metric tons by August 2024 ^[3]
• Current energy relationship: Russia remains the second-largest supplier of LNG (18.9%) and maintains a 17.6% share of gaseous natural gas to the EU ^[4]
• Broader aid context:
• European donors have been the main source of aid to Ukraine since 2022 ^[5]
• Germany alone provided €10.6 billion in military aid between January 2022 and August 2024 ^[6]
• For comparison, the US provided over €114 billion in the same period ^[2]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The statement appears designed to create a misleading narrative about European support for Ukraine by:

• Cherry-picking timeframes: Using a single year's energy purchases versus comparing to total aid since the invasion began
• Ignoring broader context: Not acknowledging the significant reduction in Russian energy imports or the EU's position as a leading donor
• Beneficiaries of this narrative: This framing benefits:
• Russian interests, by suggesting European support for Ukraine is weak
• Critics of EU energy policy, who can use it to argue for faster decoupling from Russian energy
• Those seeking to create division between Ukraine and its European allies