Overview
- Official Eurostat figures show EU spending on Russian pipeline gas and LNG fell 17% to €4.6 billion in January–April 2026, but project-level data from Kpler analysed by Urgewald report a 17.9% rise in Yamal LNG deliveries to EU ports for January–May 2026.
- The EU Council approved a phased phaseout on January 26 and implemented a ban on short-term LNG contracts on April 25, 2026, but a window of valid contracts signed between mid‑June 2025 and March 18, 2026 has allowed continued shipments.
- Kpler/Urgewald data show European buyers received roughly 96.7% of Yamal exports in the first five months of 2026 with May accounting for the bulk of those arrivals, underlining how contract timing has driven recent flows.
- Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak say Moscow can redirect volumes to Asian buyers such as China and India, a shift that market players say could reshape global LNG routes.
- Observers warn the short-term effect is to keep revenue flowing to Moscow and to raise questions about the political message of the phaseout, while Europe increases non‑Russian LNG supplies and faces logistical and contractual hurdles before full bans take effect.