European countries boost Russian LNG imports by 17% as Middle East war cuts Qatar shipments, Financial Times reports
European countries increased their imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Yamal LNG facility by 17 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, reaching five million tons, the Financial Times reported, citing the analytics firm Kpler.
The surge came as the war in the Middle East reduced LNG shipments from Qatar.
Of the five million tons shipped to European countries from Russia since the start of the year, 1.5 million tons were purchased in March, when the United States and Israel were striking Iran and Iran attacked neighboring countries and closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Europe accounted for 97 percent of all Yamal LNG cargo shipments over the three-month period, the Financial Times noted.
EU countries spent about $2.88 billion on Yamal gas in the first quarter of 2026, according to an estimate by Urgewald, an environmental nonprofit.
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen had previously said that despite sharp rises in gas and oil prices in Europe amid the war in the Middle East, the European Union had no plans to revise its plans to phase out Russian energy supplies.
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