Russia becomes second-largest LNG supplier to EU by value in June, trailing only US

TASS · 🇷🇺 public Russia · Aug 14, 2026 · 446 words

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What to know about Russia becomes second-largest LNG supplier to EU by value in June, trailing only US

The article reports on the value and volume of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline gas imports to the European Union for June and the first half of the year. It notes the EU's planned phase-out of Russian gas and mentions statements from Russian officials regarding the potential redirection of supplies to other markets.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 17

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Russia ranked second after the US in June in terms of the value of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to the European Union, with a 24.1% market share, according to TASS calculations based on Eurostat data.

Why it matters

The EU purchased approximately €809 million worth of LNG from Russia, representing a 57% increase year-on-year.

Common ground

Belgium was the largest LNG importer with 268 mln euros, the highest figure since July 2025, followed by France (€258 million), and Spain (€201 million).

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Russia becomes second-largest LNG supplier to EU by value in June, trailing only US?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Russia's total supplies to Europe last year amounted to 38 billion cubic meters, with LNG accounting for just over 20 billion cubic meters?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://tass.com/economy/2173167

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 17 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 7

check_circle Corroborated 5

help Insufficient Evidence 2

report Misleading 1

info Single Source 1

verified Verified By Reference 1

schedule

Claim 1: “Russia's total supplies to Europe last year amounted to 38 billion cubic meters, with LNG accounting for just over 20 billion cubic meters.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

report

Claim 2: “Belgium was the largest LNG importer with 268 mln euros, the highest figure since July 2025”

MISLEADING

The claim is corroborated by web search results regarding the €268 million figure, but it contains a logical impossibility: 'the highest figure since July 2025'. Since the reporting period is June (and other evidence mentions 2026), referencing a future date as a past benchmark is deceptive or a typo in the source material.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Liquefied natural gas (sometimes liquid natural gas, frequently LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and saf…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquefied_natural_gas

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the liquefied form of natural gas, which has a much smaller volume than natural gas in its gaseous form. This liquefied condition is used to facilitate the carriage of n…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LNG_terminals

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Yamal LNG (Russian: ОАО "Ямал СПГ") is a joint venture led by Novatek based around a liquefied natural gas plant located in Sabetta at the north-east of the Yamal Peninsula, northwest Siberia, Russia.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamal_LNG

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “Russian pipeline gas accounted for 12.5% of the total value of the EU’s pipeline gas imports in June.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results from bne IntelliNews explicitly state that the €542 million of Russian pipeline gas represented 12.5% of the value of all pipeline gas imports in June.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — For pipeline gas and LNG combined, Russia accounted for around 12% of total EU gas imports in 2025.The United States was the largest supplier of LNG to the EU, accounting for almost 58% of total LNG i…
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/where-does-t…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Total gas exports to the bloc, including pipeline deliveries and LNG cargoes, reportedly amounted to 8.33 bcm in the first six months of 2025 – a 47% drop from the 15.5 bcm exported during the same pe…
https://mongolianews.mn/?p=13831

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The bloc imported a further €542mn ($631mn) of Russian pipeline gas in June, 12.5% of the value of all pipeline gas imports, with Norway leading on 33.3%, Algeria on 23.6% and the UK on 18.8%. TurkStr…
https://www.intellinews.com/europe-is-heading-into-winter-wa…

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Claim 4: “Norway ranked first with 33.3%, followed by Algeria with 23.6%, and the UK with 18.8%.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results from bne IntelliNews confirm the pipeline gas market shares: Norway (33.3%), Algeria (23.6%), and the UK (18.8%).

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Yale LUX Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=June&oldid=1368520970" Categories: June Months Hidden categories: Articles with short description
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/June

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — June is named for the Roman goddess Juno, the wife of Jupiter. June never begins on the same day of the week as any other month, but always ends on the same day of the week as March.
https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/June

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 · Discover June holidays, the Strawberry Moon, summer solstice, gardening tips, seasonal recipes, and fun facts about the month of June.
https://www.almanac.com/content/month-june-holidays-fun-fact…

schedule

Claim 5: “Russian LNG deliveries to the EU in June totaled 2.17 billion cubic meters, an increase of 10%.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 6: “In the first half of the year, Europe’s total purchases of Russian LNG reached €4.5 billion.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm the €4.5 billion figure for the first half of the year.

help

Claim 7: “The US held the top spot with its LNG supplies, accounting for 54.3% of the market and €1.83 billion.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm the specific 54.3% market share or the €1.83 billion value for US LNG in June.

check_circle

Claim 8: “The EU purchased approximately €809 million worth of LNG from Russia, representing a 57% increase year-on-year.”

CORROBORATED

Two separate web search entries explicitly state that the EU purchased approximately €809 million worth of LNG from Russia in June, representing a 57% increase year-on-year.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Arctic LNG 2 (Арктик СПГ 2) is a Novatek project for the extraction of natural gas and the production of liquefied natural gas on the Gydan Peninsula, across the Ob Bay from Yamal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_LNG_2

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the existing war between the two countries that began when Ru…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war_(2022–pres…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 9: “Russia ranked second after the US in June in terms of the value of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to the European Union, with a 24.1% market share”

SINGLE SOURCE

While one web search result title mentions Russia becoming the second-largest LNG supplier in June, the provided evidence does not contain the specific 24.1% market share figure across multiple independent sources. Other sources discuss general trends or different timeframes.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Russia–European Union relations are the international relations between the European Union (EU) and Russia. Russia borders five EU member states: Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland; the Ru…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia–European_Union_relation…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 10: “The ban on LNG imports under short-term contracts came into effect on April 25, 2026, while short-term pipeline gas contracts were set to expire by June 17, 2026.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 11: “Russia was the second-largest exporter of LNG to the EU by value in 2025, behind the US. Its share stood at 16.1% (or 16.2% of the combined value of LNG and pipeline gas purchases).”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 12: “The EU also imported €542 million worth of Russian pipeline gas in June.”

CORROBORATED

The claim is confirmed by a cross-reference (TASS) and multiple web search results stating the EU imported €542 million worth of Russian pipeline gas in June.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The EU also imported €542 million worth of Russian pipeline gas in June.The ban on LNG imports under short-term contracts came into effect on April 25, 2026, while short-term pipeline gas contracts we…
http://ecoruspace.ru/index.php?action=view&id_news=145240934

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — BRUSSELS, 8th August, 2026 (WAM) -- EU imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) rose by 14% in June compared with the same month a year earlier, despite the bloc’s commitments to end its depende…
https://www.wam.ae/en/article/c1mq1rr-europes-imports-russia…

travel_explore

+ 1 more evidence source

schedule

Claim 13: “The EU’s total purchases of Russian gas in January-June decreased by 3.4% year-on-year to €7.4 billion.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 14: “Belgium also became the leading buyer of Russian gas in Europe in the reporting period, surpassing France and Hungary.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence mentions Belgium's high LNG imports and general rankings of buyers, but does not explicitly confirm that Belgium surpassed both France and Hungary to become the overall leading buyer of all Russian gas in the specific reporting period.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification for the FIBA Europe region, began in February 2024 and will conclude in March 2027. The process will determine the twelve teams that will qualify for t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2027_FIBA_Basketball_World_Cup…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Leopold I (Leopold George Christian Frederick; 16 December 1790 – 10 December 1865) was the first king of the Belgians, reigning from 21 July 1831 until his death in 1865. The youngest son of Francis,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_I_of_Belgium

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Europe is often divided into regions and subregions based on geographical, cultural or historical factors. Since there is no universal agreement on Europe's regional composition, the placement of indi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_Europe

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 15: “In terms of volume, Russia accounted for roughly 14% of the EU's LNG imports (12.1% of total gas supplies, including pipeline gas).”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 16: “followed by France (€258 million), and Spain (€201 million).”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm the specific import values for France (€258 million) and Spain (€201 million) for Russian LNG in June.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — France and Spain maintain bilateral relations, in which both share a long border across the Pyrenees, other than one point which is cut off by Andorra. As two of the most powerful kingdoms of the earl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France–Spain_relations

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The ambassador of Russia to Spain is the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the king and the government of Spain. The ambassador and his staff wor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ambassadors_of_Russia_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Spain national football team have represented Spain in men's international football competition since 1920, and are governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. They are the reigning World a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain_national_football_team

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 17: “On January 26, the EU Council finalized a complete ban on Russian LNG supplies to the EU effective January 1, 2027, and on pipeline gas from September 30, 2027.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.