Since the start of the year, LNG imports from Russia reached well over EUR 7,000,000,000, already exceeding the whole of last year's spending.

Omissions

• The exact 2026 year-to-date figure ('well over €7 billion') does not appear verbatim in any source found; it is derived from record H1 2026 imports (about €5.96 billion for Yamal alone) and the confirmed 2025 total of about €7.2 billion.
• The record 2026 import levels reflect deliberate front-loading ahead of the EU ban: in January 2026 the Council adopted a regulation prohibiting LNG and pipeline gas imports from Russia from 18 March 2026, with transition periods for long-term contracts.
• Russian LNG is a minority of the EU's total gas supply — for pipeline gas and LNG combined, Russia accounted for around 12% of total EU gas imports in 2025.
• The value figures come from NGO/market estimates and secondary reporting (Urgewald/CREA-style estimates, trade press); no official statistics office (Eurostat, national statistics) publishes an equivalent 2026 year-to-date EUR figure.
• Some sources give the record 2026 volumes for Yamal LNG specifically (Russia's largest plant), not necessarily all Russian LNG volumes to the EU.

Sources

• PrimaryCouncil of the European Union — Where does the EU's gas come from?"In January 2026, the Council adopted a regulation to prohibit both LNG and pipeline gas imports from Russia starting from 18 March 2026, with transition periods... For pipeline gas and LNG combined, Russia accounted for around 12% of total EU gas imports in 2025."
• SecondaryHigh North News — EU Spent €7.2 Billion On Russian LNG in 2025"The European Union spent about 7.2 billion Euro ($7.8 billion) on Russian liquefied natural gas in 2025, keeping imports from the Kremlin's..."
• SecondaryOilPrice.com — EU's Russian LNG Imports Hit Record High Ahead of 2027 Ban"The European Union imported a record 9.97 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) worth €5.96 billion (~$6.82 billion) from [Russia] ... in the first half of 2026, front-loading supplies ahead of a full 2027 [ban]."
• SecondaryUrgewald — EU paid an estimated €2.88 billion to Russia for Yamal Arctic LNG in Q1 2026"The EU paid an estimated €2.88 billion to Russia for Yamal Arctic LNG in Q1 2026."
• SecondaryEuropean Gas Hub — Russian LNG imports into the EU hit record high in H1 2026"Russia's LNG exports to the European Union surged by a staggering 50% in H1 2026 compared to H2 2025 and grew by almost 20% on the year."