The European Commission did not propose a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas in its latest package of sanctions because member states raised concerns about first securing alternatives including from the United States,

Russia exported a record volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to calculations by RBC based on data from the analytics firm Kpler. The country shipped 33.6 million tons abroad last year, an increase of four percent from 2023 and two percent more than in 2022,

Energy ministers from Belgium, France and Spain, whose ports receive shipments from Russian LNG tankers, have insisted that very little of the gas arriving is used domestically and that most is piped on to other EU countries. In November, Germany ordered its state-operated import terminals to reject any Russian LNG cargoes.

By Ben Aris in Berlin Germany talks loudly about ending Europe’s import of Russian gas, but as a result of alternative sources of energy, it has seen imports of Russian LNG soar by 500% in 2024 year on year,

Germany's imports of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) via other EU countries continue to rise despite restrictions on direct shipments, the Financial Times wrote on Jan. 28, citing a report by Belgian,