Russia surpasses the US in supplying natural gas to Europe.

According to RIA Novosti, the Financial Times, citing data from the analytics firm ICIS, reported that Russia has overtaken the US in supplying natural gas to Europe, despite efforts by countries in the region to abandon Russian fuel.

"For the first time in May, gas imports from Russia to Europe exceeded US supplies in almost two years, despite the region's efforts to phase out Russian fossil fuels. While the reversal was driven by exceptional circumstances, it underscores Europe's difficulty in further reducing its dependence on Russian gas, as several Eastern European countries remain reliant on imports from their neighbor," the Financial Times reported.

According to ICIS, gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from Russia accounted for 15% of total imports by the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia in May 2024. At the same time, the share of US LNG in these countries' imports was 14%, the lowest figure since August 2022.

However, according to the Financial Times, the current situation is related to “temporary factors,” such as the closure of a major LNG export facility in the US. Nevertheless, the analytics firm suggests this situation “is unlikely to last” as Russia will be able to supply liquefied natural gas via the Northern Sea Route to Asia this summer.

In March 2022, the European Union developed the RePowerEU plan, aimed at transforming the bloc's energy system to move away from dependence on Russian supplies and towards greening to address climate issues.

Europe's REPowerEU plan focuses on three main solutions: energy conservation, reducing fossil fuel consumption in industry and transport; diversifying energy sources; and increasing the exploitation of renewable energy.