The Sanctions Imposed To Russia And Their Consequences On Eu Energy Trade

The launch of the military invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 marked a turning point in the bilateral relations of this country with the EU. As a result of this unprovoked military aggression, which is unprecedented in scale and consequences since the end of the Second World War until now, the EU has imposed multiple waves of sanctions to Russia, hence bilateral trade relations have deteriorated significantly. The EU sanctions have targeted almost all areas of economic cooperation with Russia, while also including blocking of financial assets and travel bans in the EU for Russian citizens, but for the purpose of this research, we analyse only the sanctions that targeted the energy sector. These sanctions affected the very core of EU-Russia cooperation, as it is known that, prior the date of their imposition, Russia was the main exporter of energy in the EU. The research methodology used in this article is mixed: it comprises a qualitative analysis of sanctions and their impact as presented in the most relevant studies and recent research, and a quantitative part highlighting the impact of sanctions on bilateral energy trade.