About Time: Jim Jordan Goes to War With Europe Over Free Speech
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Did you know that the European Union has sent more money to Russia in payment for petroleum products than they have provided aid to Ukraine. 

You read that right: the EU is funding both sides of the war. 





As our European “allies” decry the nastiness of Bad Orange Man, they conveniently elide the fact that Russia, for whom oil exports are their economic lifeline, is profiting mightily from European purchases. 

So much for their moral preening, while Europe is not Russia’s main trading partner anymore, they still are sending boatloads of cash despite what were supposed to be crippling sanctions. 

Despite a range of sanctions and the threat posed by dependence on Russian energy, in the third year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU imports of Russian fossil fuels in particular remain largely unchanged, totalling EUR 21.9 bn, a 6% year-on-year drop in value but merely a 1% year-on-year drop in volumes.

Notably, EU imports of Russian fossil fuels in the third year of the invasion surpassed the EUR 18.7 bn of financial aid they sent to Ukraine in 2024.

Russia’s total global fossil fuel earnings in the third year of the invasion also reached EUR 242 bn and have totalled EUR 847 bn since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

And it’s no wonder that Europeans still rely on Russian energy production. As they have been decarbonizing their economies, the reduction in fossil fuel production has exceeded the reduction in energy consumption. Even as these countries continue to deindustrialize in order to decarbonize, and even as energy prices have skyrocketed (this is a policy choice intended to reduce consumption), abundant energy is still the most important factor in maintaining a Western-style quality of life. 





You can only decarbonize so far so fast, and they have reached and pretty much exceeded that limit. With European leaders on very shaky political ground they have to maintain their imports of Russian goods. 

Ironically, Russia depends much less on European purchases than Europe depends on Russian oil and gas now. As the Europeans have been trying to reduce their reliance, Russia has found new clients for their fossil fuels. China and Turkey have become major importers, and while it would hurt, if European countries really did enter the war their economies would be crippled. 

  • In the third year of the invasion, Russia earned EUR 242 bn from global fossil fuel exports, a 3% year-on-year-drop; EUR 104 bn from crude oil, EUR 75 bn from oil products, EUR 40 bn from gas and EUR 23 bn from coal. 
  • Despite a host of sanctions, Russian revenues in the third year have dropped by a mere 8% compared to the year prior to the invasion of Ukraine. Since the invasion, Russia has earned an estimated EUR 847 bn from fossil fuels exports globally. 
  • The EU paid EUR 21.9 bn for Russian fossil fuel imports in the third year of the invasion, a mere 1% year-on-year reduction in volume. The EU’s Russian imports in the third year of the invasion surpassed the EUR 18.7 bn of financial aid sent to Ukraine in 2024. 
  • The effect of sanctions on Russian Urals grade crude was 70% lower in the third year than the year prior, with sanctions slashing revenues by 6%, totalling EUR 2.6 bn. This is mainly due to Russia’s increased use of ‘shadow’ tankers to transport oil to its new markets, enabling it to bypass the oil price cap.  
  • Russia relied on 558 Russian ‘shadow’ vessels to transport 61% of its total seaborne oil exports, valued at EUR 83 bn in the third year of the invasion. 
  • Despite a range of sanctions, EU Member States spent EUR 7 bn on Russian LNG in the third year of the invasion, with volumes rising by 9% year-on-year. 
  • G7+ countries imported EUR 18 bn worth of oil products from six refineries in India and Turkey of which an estimated EUR 9 bn was refined from Russian crude. Their imports of oil products made from Russian crude generated an estimated EUR 4 bn in tax revenues for Russia.
  • Stronger sanctions countering Russian circumventions and targeted towards growing revenue streams can slash Russian fossil fuel export revenues by EUR 51 bn annually, effectively cutting earnings by 20%.





The Europeans are talking tough, but even they admit that the United States is key to making a peace deal and that Ukraine will not become part of NATO. Instead, Kier Starmer is now talking about a “coalition of the willing” to defend Ukraine, which is a far cry from NATO. 

This really is not far from Trump’s position, which is that Ukraine is Europe’s problem and not ours. If they want to risk war with Russia–and if the mineral deal goes through, the risk will be low for quite a while–that is their problem. 

And despite Starmer’s wishy-washy backing of Trump and loud proclamations of support for Zelenskyy, the British Ambassador to the United States is now saying Zelenskyy must agree to Trump’s demands. 

Europeans can neither defend themselves without the United States nor even wean themselves from Russian oil and gas. 





They can posture all they want and put troops into Ukraine once the deal is done and the United States clears the path, but in the end Europe is the weakest participant in the peace process. 

Zelenskyy overplayed his hand, and I think he did so because Europeans and liberals here in the US thought they could bully Trump into changing his mind by ambushing him on worldwide TV and then shaming him for being a bully. 

That was a miscalculation of enormous proportions. It is they who are recalibrating, not Trump. Because they have to. 

UPDATE: NATO Chief Mark Rutte issued a stern warning to Zelenskyy:





NATO CHIEF TO ZELENSKY: “RESTORE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH TRUMP”

In an interesting turn of events, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte just urged Zelensky to mend ties with Trump and the U.S., emphasizing the importance of strong relations.

The news comes despite the fact many heads of state of European members of NATO defended Zelensky after Trump’s exchange with him yesterday. 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte:

“You have to find a way, dear Volodymyr, to restore your relationship with Donald Trump and the American administration.”

Source: Reuters


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