President Trump tore into Europe for spending more on Russian petroleum than aid to Ukraine as allies demanded the US do more to help Kyiv.
European leaders voiced a flurry of support and well-wishes for Kyiv over the weekend following the widely publicized Oval Office shouting match that erupted between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 47, and Trump, 78, last Friday.
Despite their social media posts and lofty rhetoric, Trump, 78, implied the leaders’ actions have been feckless and insincere.
“Europe has spent more money buying Russian Oil and Gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine —BY FAR!” Trump groused on Truth Social.
A study last week by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) concluded that European Union countries spent roughly €21.9 billion ($23 billion) on Russian fossil fuels last year.
That’s only a 1% drop from the prior year and just above the roughly €18.7 billion ($19.6 billion) Europe sent in aid to Ukraine in 2024, the study noted, citing data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Total Russian earnings off petroleum and other fossil fuels clocked in at €242 billion ($253.8 billion) last year and about €847 billion ($888.5 billion) since the country’s unprovoked invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022.
For context, Russia’s total nominal gross domestic product last year was estimated to be hovering around $2.2 trillion based on data from the Kremlin, as assessed by the International Monetary Fund.
The top three buyers of Russian fossil fuels include China ($81.8 billion), India ($51.5 billion) and Turkey ($35.6), a NATO ally that has unsuccessfully attempted to gain admittance into the European Union.
Notably, India’s purchases of Russian fossil fuels shot up 8%, and Turkey’s jumped 6% last year relative to 2023, the CREA study found.
In addition to the open purchases of Russian fossil fuels, CREA warned about “shadow” vessels from Moscow that accounted for an estimated 61% of the belligerent nation’s seaborne oil exports.
Western powers, including the US and European Union, have slapped a bevy of crippling sanctions against Russia intended to weaken it economically during its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
“A quarter of Russia’s fossil fuel export revenues still come from Europe,” researcher and member of the European Parliament Thomas Pellerin-Carlin said in a statement.
“Now more than ever is the time for Europe to eliminate completely any dependence on Russian fossil fuels.”
Since the start of the war, Europe has shelled out $138.7 billion and the US has dished out $119.7 billion to help Ukraine beat back the invading forces, according to data from the Kiel Institute. The Defense Department, meanwhile, has pegged the US contribution at roughly $182.8 billion.
Trump has long groused that European nations haven’t done more to address the bloody war raging on their continent.
On Friday, a shouting match erupted after Zelensky pressed Vice President JD Vance about how he can expect Ukraine to conduct diplomacy with Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin given his history of lying.
Zelensky was then booted from the White House and a mineral rights agreement with Ukraine was left unsigned.
European leaders quickly leaped to Ukraine’s defense.
“Today it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge,” European Union foreign minister Kaja Kallas said after the feud.
Zelensky huddled with European leaders at an emergency summit in London on Sunday to discuss efforts to end the war, with the UK and France later announcing their intention to draft a peace plan for the war in Ukraine to share with the US.
