Moscow claims to have sold $320.7 billion of hydrocarbons to the EU since 2022

Russia claims to have sold $320.7 billion in hydrocarbons to European Union countries since 2022. This amount was announced on television on Monday 12 October 2026 by Alexander Novak, Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Energy. South West, Le Matin and Le Télégramme report the same statement, also taken up in the direct of La Dépêche du Midi. This is a review presented by Moscow, not a total independently confirmed by these publications. [S1] [S2] [S3] [S4]

Cumulative amount with limited detail

While the titles generally refer to "Europe", the perimeter indicated by Alexandre Novak is more precise: the countries of the European Union. The Russian official also advanced $21.3 billion for the first nine months of 2026. According to him, these sales could continue in the sectors benefiting from exemptions from the restrictions. These two figures must therefore be distinguished: the first relates to a period beginning in 2022, the second to part of the current year. [S1] [S2] [S3]

The convergence of the items establishes that they account for the same announcement, but does not constitute an additional audit. South West and The Telegram explicitly mention the AFP in their signature. The texts consulted do not provide a complete annual breakdown, nor do they provide a breakdown by country of purchase or product, nor do they provide a method to reconstruct the $320.7 billion. They also do not present a European response to this figure. [S1] [S2] [S3]

Persistent procurement under progressive restrictions

South West and Telegram provide consistent information on supply circuits. They cite purchases of liquefied natural gas, notably by France, as well as exemptions allowing Hungary and Slovakia to receive Russian oil by pipeline. The continuation of these exchanges does not, therefore, in itself mean that all the deliveries referred to violate the sanctions: the articles also describe authorized flows. [S1] [S3]

The official European calendar provides an important complement. On 26 January 2026, the Council of the European Union reported that it had adopted a regulation to stop imports of Russian gas. Its application begins on March 18, 2026, with a transition for existing contracts. The published timetable provides for a complete ban from the end of 2026 on LNG and from autumn 2027 on gas transported by pipeline. This document describes the regulatory framework, without confirming the financial total announced by Moscow. [S5]

Another boundary limit: according to South West and Telegram, the Russian total excludes hydrocarbons arriving indirectly in Europe after processing in third countries, such as India or Turkey. The articles do not encrypt these flows. It is therefore not possible, on the basis of published information, to deduct an overall amount including these indirect circuits. [S1] [S3]

An announcement in the diesel controversy

The Russian balance sheet comes as Donald Trump announced on the previous Friday an agreement on the supply of Russian diesel in markets, presented as a means of containing the price increase. The Telegram reports that the US President himself mentioned Monday 250 billion dollars paid by the EU to Russia for its energy. This amount is different from Novak's, but the published evidence does not determine whether the calculation periods and methods are identical. [S1] [S3]

The US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, accused Europeans of "hypocrisy", accusing them of continuing to buy Russian energy while contesting a respite on the price of diesel. This charge is a matter of political judgment: it does not provide additional verification of amounts. When asked about diesel, Novak also mentioned the possibility of finding global deliveries of 3 to 3.5 million tonnes per month, a separate objective of the EU sales balance sheet. [S1] [S3]

Beyond the controversy, the established point is therefore the Russian announcement and its consistent resumption by several media. Accuracy, composition and comparison with other estimates remain to be documented; The sources consulted do not allow this government statement to be transformed into an independent review of the effectiveness of sanctions. [S1] [S2] [S3] [S4]