The Russian oil and gas sector is the most important revenue source for the Kremlin, and accounted for 32% (EUR 97 bn) of the country’s federal budget revenues in 2023. An important component of this revenue stream is pipeline flows to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, who were granted an exemption from the EU’s ban on Russian oil imports. The intention of the derogation was to allow these EU Member States more time to reduce their reliance on Russian oil. In reality, Russian oil purchases have barely changed. Pipeline oil exports contributed EUR 2.5 bn to Russian export revenues in the first half of 2024 alone, around one fifth of that coming from the Czech Republic.
While the Czech Republic has been supportive of Ukraine’s defence against the Russian invasion, the Czech Republic has sent EUR 7 bn to the Kremlin via fossil fuel purchases, over five times more money than it provided in aid to Ukraine (EUR 1.29 bn) since the start of the invasion.

The Czech government has not done enough to phase out Russian energy imports. In 2022, Russian oil accounted for 56% of the country’s total imports of oil. This figure rose to 60% in 2023 and only returned to levels similar to the pre-Ukraine-invasion of 49% in the first quarter of 2024.
In the first half (H1) of 2024, the Czech Republic imported 1.2 mn tonnes (EUR 542 mn) of Russian pipeline oil, consistent in value terms with average imports from before the invasion (EUR 574 mn in H1 2021). While monthly average imports of Russian crude oil fell by 46% in H1 2024 compared to the same period last year, the decrease was not the result of Czech efforts to reduce the reliance on Russian crude but rather that of two unexplained disruptions to Russian oil supply via the Druzhba pipeline in Q2. Even after the monthly cuts, the Czech Republic’s imports of Russian crude oil have generated EUR 300 mn in tax revenues for the Kremlin in the first half of 2024. The crude import disruptions also revealed that Czechia can maintain normal oil supply to consumers even when import volumes fall, as the countries’ refineries can obtain ample alternatives without a spike in domestic petroleum prices.