- The UK had no imports of energy from Russia in June, the first such occurrence on record.
- Crude and refined oil and gas were among energy sources the UK has stopped importing from Moscow.
- The UK has said it would phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2022.
The UK didn’t import any fuel from Russia in June, marking the first such occurrence on record and keeping in line with the government’s aim to stop importing Russian energy as a result of Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
June’s lack of fuel coming into the UK from Russia was the first month that’s happened since records began in January 1997, the UK’s Office for National Statistics said in a report it released six months after Russia began invading Ukraine.
“As a result of the UK Government’s ambition to phase out imports of Russian oil and gas, there were no imports of refined oil, crude oil, gas or coal, coke and briquettes from Russia by June 2022,” ONS said. A separate government report published in mid-August said June marked the third straight month of no Russian gas imports.
The UK had imported a monthly average of £499 million ($587 million) worth of Russian fuel in the 12 months leading up to the war that Moscow launched on February 24. The total value of UK fossil fuel imports from Russia was £4.4 billion in the year to June.
Following the invasion, the UK government said it would phase out all Russian oil imports by the end of 2022 in response to “Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.” Russia in 2021 was the UK’s largest refined oil supplier, at 24.1%. Moscow had also supplied 5.9% of the UK’s crude oil imports, and 4.9% of the UK’s gas imports.
The phase-out spurred an increase in refined oil imports from other markets including Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Kuwait, moves that partially compensated for the reduced Russian imports, the ONS said.
UK imports of Russian goods fell to £33 million in June, the lowest level since records began in January 1997, the statistics agency said.
