Despite the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine and EU sanctions, Russian manufacturers continue to receive substantial income from exports of metal products and minerals to the EU, particularly pig iron and semi-finished steel products. Last year, Russian exports of these products exceeded $2.75B. Imports of Russian pig iron to the EU rose to 474,540 tons in January 2025 compared to 36,300 tons in the same month last year and 600 tons in December 2024.
In January and February of this year, pig iron, semi-finished steel products, and direct reduction iron ranked first on the list of EU imports from Russia. In total, the EU purchased 1.35 million tons of metallurgical raw materials of Russian origin, which is 71% more than last year.
Experts express doubts about the effectiveness of current sanctions, including the existence of “exceptions” that allow Russian steel producers to continue exporting to EU markets. Additionally, Russian steel products are sold at lower prices on European markets, which harms Ukrainian exporters and European producers.