Vladimir Putin has been struck with a major blow as Europe breaks free of direct Russian oil imports, research suggests.
Analysts at European energy consultancy Rystad, say Europe's supply of oil and gas has shifted to the US and Canada.
In 2020 imports from Russia made up 39 per cent of the gas used in the European Union.
Russia supplied the UK with 30 per cent of its diesel, 27 per cent of its coal and up to 10 per cent of its gas.
Vladimir Putin has been struck with a major blow as Europe breaks free of direct Russian oil imports, research suggests
Getty
Official figures now show this has fallen to almost zero.
"I think people underestimated how flexible the energy system is," Jorge Leon, Rystad’s senior vice president for oil markets told The Telegraph.
"Just before the war, just the idea of, we’re going to stop buying oil and gas directly from Russia, would have been crazy. But it has largely happened."
It is believed that some Russian fossil fuel has still been arriving via refineries in other countries.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
However, Leon suggests the overall number is still reducing.
He added that Russia's dominance has been cracked following a surge of suppliers from outside Opec - a group of mainly Middle Eastern countries.
He said: "Non-Opec supplies do not usually grow that much but 2023 was a massive year.
"The stars aligned and you had new projects come in from Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Norway, and so on. So that saved us in a sense.
Analysts at European energy consultancy Rystad, say Europe's supply of oil and gas has shifted from Russia to the US and Canada
REUTERS"And then you look at the US, growth has continued very, very strongly through 2023."
Despite the reduction in Russian oil across Europe, Leon warns it could be "illusory" as the Kremlin has been selling more crude oil to countries including India.
He said: "Oil that was initially flowing from Russia into Europe is now going to China and India, from where suppliers are shipping to Europe."
According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air - which monitors Russian energy exports - estimates that Russia has earned €605bn (£517bn) from fossil fuel exports since February 2022.
