Russia's Achilles Heel: An EU Import Ban on Russian Liquefied Natural Gas Is Feasible and Necessary

Gas is being instrumentalized by Russia's regime to flank the campaign against Ukraine. However, trade in Russian gas is still not subject to any sanctions (as of April 2024). This is why Russia is still earning billions of euros from exporting fossil gas to the EU.

In the two years since 24 February 2022, LNG tankers have landed 31.4 million tons (Mt) of Russian liquefied gas in EU ports. Sabetta (Yamal LNG), by far the most important LNG export terminal, located on the east coast of the Yamal Peninsula in the Russian Arctic, would face massive logistical problems if the EU were to ban the import and trade of Russian LNG.