Japan, South Korea, Taiwan buy $5.5bn of Russian fuel: think tank

East Asian powerhouses keep importing even as others shun Russian oil and gas

East Asia has continued to import fossil fuels from Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine. (Source photos by AP and Reuters)

RURIKA IMAHASHI, Nikkei staff writer

August 23, 2022 15:31 JST

TOKYO -- Japan, South Korea and Taiwan imported a combined $5.5 billion of fossil fuels from Russia in the five months following the invasion of Ukraine, according to a Finland-based think tank, underscoring their ongoing reliance on commodities from the nation even as other countries sever business ties with it.