Key facts
- Spain imported 138,000 metric tonnes of Russian LNG in October, per a CREA report dated November 12.
- CREA analyst Isaac Levi said companies are likely maximizing Russian LNG imports under long-term contracts before the EU ban.
- The EU imported a fifth more LNG from Russia's Arctic Yamal facility in 2026 to date than in all of 2025, per data shared with the Kyiv Independent.
- France holds a contract already paid for that ends when the EU ban takes effect, the report said.
- Hungary and Slovakia remain the EU's top importers of Russian fossil fuels as a whole, still connected to Russian pipelines.
- Russian-flagged tankers rose to 62 ships carrying 47% of Russian oil deliveries, from 20 ships and 6% in October 2025, per CREA.
Spain imported 138,000 metric tonnes of Russian liquefied natural gas in October 2026, after having phased out imports from Moscow in September, according to a November 12 report by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air. The resumption came as EU imports of Russian LNG fell 10% month-on-month and just ahead of a ban on all Russian LNG entering the bloc from January 2027.
"Companies are acting in their own commercial interests and are likely maximizing Russian LNG imports under existing long-term contracts ahead of the full EU ban coming into force," CREA analyst Isaac Levi told the Kyiv Independent. The bloc imported a fifth more LNG from Russia's Arctic Yamal facility in 2026 to date than in the whole of 2025, according to data shared with the Kyiv Independent, with those imports stacked toward the first half of 2026. Belgium has since eliminated Russian LNG from its supply chain, and France holds a contract already paid for that ends when the EU ban takes effect.
Hungary and Slovakia remain the EU's top two importers of Russian fossil fuels as a whole, still connected to Russian pipelines, with the EU ban on pipeline gas imports set to take effect from November 1, 2027.
The CREA report also said the number of shadow fleet ships flying a Russian flag more than tripled from the previous October. In October 2025, 20 Russian-flagged tankers delivered 6% of Russian oil; that rose to 62 ships accounting for 47% of oil deliveries, the report said. Levi said the expansion of Russia's own flag registry is an increasingly important tool for evading sanctions and avoiding scrutiny, as falsely flagged tankers face detention or enforcement action.
Officials in countries such as Sweden and Finland told the Kyiv Independent they intercept shadow fleet ships based on legal criteria such as proof of an environmental risk, but also said a Russian flag can change the calculus about carrying out interceptions. They said the aim of EU sanctions policy is to keep raising the cost for Russia of exporting fossil fuels, and that requiring Russia to protect its ships with military vessels is an example of how sanctions impose additional costs.