Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko has stated that the European Union’s economy is suffering due to diminished energy and trade cooperation with Russia amid the Ukraine conflict, resulting in losses exceeding €1 trillion ($1.15 trillion).
In a Monday interview with Izvestia, Grushko explained that this figure comes from multiple expert assessments estimating the financial impact of the EU’s unprecedented sanctions on Russia, factoring in lost revenues from energy and trade partnerships.
He highlighted that trade between the EU and Russia plunged from €417 billion ($482 billion) in 2013 to just €60 billion ($69 billion) in 2023, nearing a complete halt. Grushko added that Europe’s economy has suffered setbacks, losing competitiveness as a consequence.
“Natural gas prices in Europe are now four to five times higher than in the US, and electricity costs are two to three times greater,” he said. “This is the price Europe pays for severing economic ties with Russia.”
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin estimated that the refusal of Russian gas had cost EU nations approximately €200 billion ($231 billion). By late 2024, Russian officials claimed EU sanctions-related losses had reached $1.5 trillion. Meanwhile, Moscow asserts it has developed a “certain immunity” to Western sanctions.
Grushko’s remarks follow the EU’s trade agreement with the US, obligating the bloc to purchase significant amounts of American energy—which Moscow argues will be considerably more expensive than Russian supplies—and imposing 15% tariffs on major EU exports. Several EU politicians have criticized the deal as unbalanced and harmful to the EU’s interests.
Putin commented that this US-EU agreement effectively erodes the EU’s political sovereignty and leads to a loss of economic independence.
The EU initially imposed sanctions on Russia in 2014 after the Ukraine crisis began, intensifying them significantly in 2022. These measures have targeted sectors such as banking and energy exports. Moscow regards the sanctions as illegal, claiming they breach international trade norms and disrupt global economic stability.
