MOSCOW, July 13 (World Daily Times) — Europe’s still-unfinished break with Russian energy is now a sanctions fight as much as an energy story. Russian gas continues to reach the European Union, and EU officials have outlined plans to end those imports. At the same time, President Donald Trump and bipartisan senators are pushing tougher U.S. penalties on countries that keep buying Russian fuel.
The basic idea is simple: if Europe keeps paying for Russian oil and gas, money still flows to the Kremlin. That matters because Russia’s energy sales remain one of the clearest ways Moscow can earn revenue during the war in Ukraine.
What is still being bought?
The clearest official figure in the material comes from Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office. Eurostat said Russia accounted for about 8% of the EU’s natural gas imports in the second quarter of 2025. That gas can arrive in two main ways: through pipelines, or as liquefied natural gas, known as LNG, which is chilled into a liquid so it can be shipped by sea.
EU institutions have also moved toward a cut-off. The European Commission has proposed legislation to phase out EU imports of Russian oil and gas by Jan. 1, 2028. Separately, the Council of EU energy ministers has announced a plan to phase out all Russian gas by the end of next year.
What are secondary sanctions?
Secondary sanctions are different from direct sanctions. Direct sanctions target the country or company that is being punished. Secondary sanctions try to pressure third parties too — for example, countries or firms that keep doing business with the target. In this case, the goal is to make it more costly for foreign buyers to keep purchasing Russian energy.
That is the approach behind a bipartisan Senate push led by Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal. In a joint statement, they said: “As Russia intensifies its slaughter of civilians, it is imperative that the legislative and executive branches work together to create tools to exact a heavy price on those who buy Russian oil and natural gas, fueling the Putin war machine.”
How is Trump framing the issue?
Trump has repeatedly criticized Europe’s dependence on Russian fuel. In a March 4 address to Congress, he said: “Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine, by far.”
On Truth Social, Trump said he was “prepared to impose significant sanctions on Russia” once NATO allies had “concurred and initiated similar actions.” He also called the purchase of Russian oil by some NATO members “shocking” and said it weakens leverage against Moscow.
A White House official also said Trump urged European leaders to stop buying Russian oil.
Why does this matter now?
The energy debate sits inside a bigger war-policy debate. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made the same basic argument, telling ABC News, “We must stop [buying] any type of energy from Russia…”
For Europe, the problem is not just political. It is also practical: the bloc is trying to cut Russian energy ties without waiting too long or leaving itself exposed to supply risks. For Washington, the issue is whether sanctions should hit Russia directly, or also reach the countries that keep buying what Russia sells.
That is why the fight over Russian energy keeps coming back. Even as Europe tries to reduce its dependence, and NATO focuses on security, the cash from oil and gas can still help keep Russia’s war economy running.
