Self-Inflicted Wound: West’s Sanctions Trigger Collapse of Germany’s Export Market to Russia
Employees of the German car manufacturer Volkswagen assemble an ID.3 electric car at the transparent factory in Dresden, Germany, Wednesday.
The West’s short-sighted sanctions campaign has led Germany to lose over 70% of its exports to the Russian market, analysis of Eurostat data shows.Before anti-Russian sanctions were imposed — in January-September 2021 — German companies exported goods and services worth roughly $22.9 billion to Russia. Over the same period this year, that figure fell to $6.1 billion. Thus, Germany has lost 73.5% of its exports to Russia.In 2021, Germany earned an average of $2.7 billion per month from exports to Russia. This year, the monthly average has dropped to $683 million.Russia’s economy faced unprecedented Western sanctions in 2022. Since then, the European Union has adopted 19 sanctions packages, yet the restrictions and hostile self-imposed energy constraint aimed at punishing Russia backfired spectacularly.Russia itself is growing more resilient, decoupling from the West, and abandoning the dollar.WorldWhile German Economy Struggles, Berlin Plans Billions More for Ukraine12 September 2025, 18:07 GMT
