Since 2022, the volume of Russian light oil imports to Taiwan has increased by nearly 500%. During this period, the Russian Federation earned over $1.7 billion from these oil product shipments, which, according to analysts’ estimates, could allow for the production of approximately 170,000 “Gerbera” drones.
This is reported by Finway
“Since 2022, the export of Russian oil products (light oil) to Taiwan has increased by nearly 500%, providing Russia with $1.7 billion in revenue. This amount would be sufficient to produce 170,000 ‘Gerbera’ drones, according to the Center for Energy Research (CREA) and the Environmental Rights Fund (ERF).”
Import Scale and Assistance to Ukraine
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression, Taiwan has signed contracts to import 6.8 million tons of Russian light oil worth a total of $4.9 billion. This accounts for about 20% of all Russian light oil exported worldwide. In the first half of 2025, Taiwan purchased $1.3 billion worth of crude oil products from Russia, even after announcing its alignment with international sanctions against Moscow. Compared to the same period last year, this year’s imports have increased by an additional 44%.
At the same time, Taiwan has provided Ukraine with a total of $50 million in bilateral assistance since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Trends in the Global Energy Market
In addition to Taiwan, other countries continue to cooperate with Russia in the energy sector. For example, under pressure from the United States, India has only slightly reduced its purchases of Russian oil: in September 2025, daily imports stood at 1.61 million barrels, while in August, this figure was 1.72 million barrels. The annual reduction was 16%.
As for the United States, in 2024, Russia remained the main supplier of fuel for American nuclear reactors. The share of enriched uranium from Russia in the U.S. energy sector was about 27% in 2023 and 20% in 2024. Despite a formal ban that has been in effect since August 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy may allow the import of nuclear fuel from Russia until 2028 if no alternative suppliers are found or if the import is deemed essential for the national interests of the state.