Taiwan has become a world leader in imports of Russian crude oil used as feedstock for the chemical industry and for producing materials essential to the semiconductor technology sector, despite participating in nationwide sanctions against Moscow and statements of support for Ukraine.
In the first half of 2025, Taiwan imported Russian crude oil feedstock worth about $1.3 billion; average monthly volumes were almost six times higher than the 2022 levels.
Compared with the first half of 2024, imports of Russian crude oil from Taiwan in 2025 rose by 44%.
Taiwan also steadfastly supports Ukraine in the war with Russia: on Sunday, Foreign Minister Lin Chih-lun inked in Poland an agreement that provides aid to children in Ukraine affected by Russia’s invasion.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Taiwan has joined international sanctions against Moscow and imposed export controls to prevent the use of Taiwan’s high-tech goods in Russia’s military aims. At the same time, Moscow continues to finance the war through energy trade, including with Taiwan.
According to data from the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research, since February 2022 Taiwan imported 6.8 million tons of Russian crude oil feedstock worth $4.9 billion, accounting for about 20% of Russia’s total export volume of this product.
In the United States, President Donald Trump encouraged countries to halt purchases of Russian oil. The study results were published by the Energy and Clean Air Research Center in collaboration with a European, Russian, and Taiwanese coalition of NGOs.
Oil as fuel: Taiwan relies on imports for roughly 97% of its energy, making it vulnerable to competition among global players and to the possibility of economic pressure from China. In addition, Taiwan is a democratic state with a clear stance against aggression, but China has not ruled out using force to declare sovereignty over the island.
Revenue from Taiwan’s purchases of Russian oil feedstock is not insignificant for Moscow’s revenues.
These findings highlight Taiwan’s dilemma: on the one hand, the economic benefits of trade; on the other – strategic security and international obligations.
This appears to be an opportunistic move by Taiwan’s oil-chemicals industry.
It’s hard to imagine that Russia would agree to or be able to provide military support to China in the event of increased pressure on Taiwan.
As Moscow and Beijing seek to absorb Ukraine and Taiwan respectively, they employ different approaches across different time horizons.
Taiwan cannot ignore the risks associated with increasing dependence on Russian fuel.
