Three years of reporting, funded by our readers — become a member now and help us prepare for 2025.
Goal: 1,000 new members for our birthday. Gift a membership to your friend and help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Become a member Gift membership
Skip to content
Edit post

Germany's exports to Russia in October decrease by more than 37% from past year

by Nate Ostiller November 21, 2023 2:18 PM 2 min read
Protesters stand outside the German Chancellery as they demand a full embargo against energy imports from Russia on May 4, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. (Omer Messinger/Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Germany's exports to Russia fell by 37.3% in October 2023 compared to October 2022, the Federal Statistical Office of Germany reported on Nov. 21.

Before the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia was Germany's fifth most important trading partner outside of the European Union, but has since fallen to 18th place.

Nonetheless, the value of Germany's exports to Russia in October still amounted to 600 million euros ($656 million).

The U.S. took first place as the most important country for exports outside of the EU, at 14.3 billion euros ($15.6 billion) in October 2023.

Although exports to Russia have significantly fallen, Germany continues to import large amounts of Russian oil, which in turn adds critical funds to support Russia's war machine.

In addition, Russia's oil exports to India have seen remarkable growth since the full-scale invasion and subsequent introduction of Western sanctions. Once refined, the oil products are no longer treated as Russian and thus can be re-exported back to the EU.

"We in the EU don't buy Russian oil, but we buy the diesel obtained by refining this Russian oil somewhere else," such as in India, the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, noted in May 2023.

"This has the effect of circumventing our sanctions and our member states should take measures to deal with this," Borrell said.

There have been other troubling developments within the scope of German exports to Russia.

The German media outlet Der Spiegel reported on Aug. 29 on the case of a German company allegedly exporting electronic components used in the creation of Russian Orlan-10 drones that are then deployed to Ukraine.

The exports violated sanctions, but the shipment had likely circumvented the restrictions by being transported through third-party countries.

Investigation: Czech parts make their way to Russian military helicopters despite sanctions
Editor’s Note: This story is based on an investigation by Trap Aggressor, a project by Ukrainian NGO StateWatch, which advocates for principles of good governance. The investigation’s author, Roman Steblivskyi, is a researcher at StateWatch. This story has been translated from Ukrainian and edited b…
Three years of reporting, funded by our readers.
Millions read the Kyiv Independent, but only one in 10,000 readers makes a financial contribution. Thanks to our community we've been able to keep our reporting free and accessible to everyone. For our third birthday, we're looking for 1,000 new members to help fund our mission and to help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Three years. Millions of readers. All thanks to 12,000 supporters.
It’s thanks to readers like you that we can celebrate another birthday this November. We’re looking for another 1,000 members to help fund our mission, keep our journalism accessible for all, and prepare for whatever 2025 might bring. Consider gifting a membership today or help us spread the word.
Help us get 1,000 new members!
Become a member Gift membership
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

3:44 PM

Russian ICBM strike would be 'clear escalation,' EU says.

"While we're assessing the full facts, it's obvious that such (an) attack would mark yet another clear escalation from the side of (Russian President Vladimir Putin," EU foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said, according to AFP.
1:40 PM

Merkel describes Trump as 'fascinated by Putin' in her memoir.

"(Donald Trump) saw everything from the point of view of a property developer, which is what he was before he came into politics. Every plot of land could only be sold once, and if he didn't get it, someone else would," Angela Merkel says in her memoir.
11:54 PM

Biden seeks to cancel over $4.5 billion of Ukraine's debt.

"We have taken the step that was outlined in the law to cancel those loans, provide that economic assistance to Ukraine, and now Congress is welcome to take it up if they wish," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Nov. 20.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.