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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 3, 2025

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Note that Europe has, in fact, been paying about 60% of the financial cost of supporting Ukraine, although this is arguably less than our "fair share" given that it is our backyard and not yours.

It's possible that, since the start of the war, the EU has supported Russia more than Ukraine via its imports of natural gas and oil.

I ran this by AI, and it seems eminently plausible. Here's what Grok says about EU purchases from Russia since the start of the war, although I wouldn't take it as gospel:

Value: The financial cost is estimated at €125–156 billion for this period, with 2024 alone seeing €21.9 billion spent on Russian fossil fuels (oil and gas), per reports from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and The Guardian. This exceeds the €18.7 billion in financial aid to Ukraine in 2024, highlighting a persistent economic link despite sanctions.

The comparison is a bit unfair because Russia doesn't produce natural gas for free, so it's not all profit. But still, it's fair to say that the EU is funding both sides of the war. Kinda like the US funding both sides of the Israel/Hamas conflict.

It's possible that, since the start of the war, the EU has supported Russia more than Ukraine via its imports of natural gas and oil.

I am struggling to determine if this is correct. It appears to be true insofar as it considers financial aid (not military or humanitarian aid) from EU institutions. If you include all types of aid, and include European countries themselves as donors (rather than EU bodies), it is not true, from what I can tell.

(1) https://www.statista.com/chart/amp/28489/ukrainian-military-humanitarian-and-financial-aid-donors/ (2) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/24/eu-spends-more-russian-oil-gas-than-financial-aid-ukraine-report