# Is Niger helping Russia or Ukraine? The net is essentially zero

Niger's support for Ukraine since 2022: <€1m (<0.01% of one year's GDP: its aid, refugee hosting, private donations and its other parts of support, net of money flowing back). Russia kept €1m (<0.01% of GDP) more than without the war, mostly Russian crude in fuel bought from refiners elsewhere (€5m; the other parts take €3m off it). The net is <0.01% of a year's GDP toward Russia (likely from 0.17% toward Russia to 0.40% toward Ukraine; essentially zero).

[Open in the map →](https://warbalance.org/#NER)

Toward Russia by

<0.01% of a year's GDP since 2022

essentially zero

likely from 0.17% toward Russia to 0.40% toward Ukraine · €2m · ≈ <0.01%/yr

Bought less from Ukraine than without the war + raised Russia's earnings from trade = <0.01% of GDP toward Russia. Mostly toward Russia (mostly Russian crude in fuel bought from refiners elsewhere).

Chance toward Russia: 58%; 90% of the other method choices agree.

Support for Ukraine

Bought less from Ukraine than without the war; below zero by

<0.01%

<€1m

about 0 essentially zero

Russia's earnings from trade

Raised Russia's earnings from trade by

<0.01%

€1m

likely from 0.17% toward Russia to 0.40% toward Ukraine essentially zero

Russia kept €1m (<0.01% of GDP) more than without the war, mostly Russian crude in fuel bought from refiners elsewhere (€5m; the other parts take €3m off it).

- Russia's gain: Russia kept <0.01% of GDP more (€1m; likely from 0.17% toward Russia to 0.40% toward Ukraine)
- Niger's own gain from trade with Russia: Niger kept <0.01% of GDP more from its trade with Russia (<€1m; about 0)

The two lines add up to Russia's earnings from trade; their ranges do not.

## Its story in short

- Russian forces in the country Wagner Group or Russia's Africa Corps operated here: 2024, 2025, 2026. Paid to them and taken by their firms, at Russia's gain, against 2021: €3m.

## What decides this number

Chance toward Russia: 58%; 90% of the other method choices agree. Near zero, and not certain mostly because of how much it would have bought from Russia without the war. Here the size of the net is the finding, not its direction: likely from 0.17% toward Russia to 0.40% toward Ukraine.

## What makes up the number

Bought less from Ukraine than without the war; below zero by <0.01% · <€1m

Raised Russia's earnings from trade by <0.01% · €1m

| Russia kept less from fuel and goods sold hereC | +0.06% | €10m |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Russia kept more from its oil bought via other countriesDown estimate | −0.03% | €5m |
| Russian forces paid here (Wagner / Africa Corps)D | −0.02% | €3m |
| Russia kept more from weapons sold hereD | −0.01% | €2m |
| Russia kept more from war-time fuel pricesC | −0.01% | €2m |

+ toward Ukraine, − toward Russia (in support for Ukraine, − is money it earned back or bought less from Ukraine than without the war). Letters: A reported, B measured estimate, C modelled estimate, D rough indication.

## By year

The year with the largest net amount was 2023: −€2m. The yearly amounts are small against the range of the total, so their side from one year to the next is not a finding.

| Year | Support for Ukraine | Trade: toward Ukraine (+) / toward Russia (−) | Net | Net since 2022 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [2022](https://warbalance.org/ukraine-aid-2022/) | +<€1m | −€1m | −€1m | −<0.01% |
| [2023](https://warbalance.org/ukraine-aid-2023/) | −<€1m | −€2m | −€2m | −0.02% |
| [2024](https://warbalance.org/ukraine-aid-2024/) | −<€1m | +€1m | +€1m | −0.02% |
| [2025](https://warbalance.org/ukraine-aid-2025/) | −<€1m | −<€1m | −<€1m | −0.02% |
| [2026](https://warbalance.org/ukraine-aid-2026/)\* | −<€1m | +€1m | +€1m | −<0.01% |

Each year's amount: + toward Ukraine, − toward Russia. \*2026: to August.

## Trade with Russia before and after

It bought €8m from Russia in 2021 and €3m in 2025. It sold <€1m to Russia in 2021 and €1m in 2025. For Niger: €2m paid above no-war prices, most of it in 2022, 71% of it on gas contracts. These are sales values at each year's prices; the totals count what the seller kept on them.

## Sanctions on Russia

We found no sanctions of Niger's own against Russia (checked 27 October 2026). This says nothing about whether firms there follow other countries' sanctions. Russia's list of “unfriendly” states does not name Niger. Checked 27 October 2026.

[Every country's sanctions on Russia →](https://warbalance.org/countries-with-sanctions-on-russia/#NER)

## Compared with its neighbours and groups

Its direction is essentially zero, so the map's ranking gives it no number.

### Neighbours by land

| Country | Net, % of GDP |
| --- | --- |
| [Nigeria](https://warbalance.org/country/nigeria/) | +0.42% · +€1.8bn · very likely · 96% |
| [Mali](https://warbalance.org/country/mali/) | +0.06% · +€14m · essentially zero |
| [Algeria](https://warbalance.org/country/algeria/) | +0.02% · +€36m · essentially zero |
| Niger | −<0.01% · −€2m · essentially zero |
| [Benin](https://warbalance.org/country/benin/) | −0.36% · −€65m · too close to call · 56% toward Russia |
| [Burkina Faso](https://warbalance.org/country/burkina-faso/) | −3.9% · −€0.75bn · likely toward Russia · 92% |
| [Libya](https://warbalance.org/country/libya/) | −6.6% · −€2.8bn · very likely · 99% |

## How the number is backed

14 sources back its parts: 1 official statistics, 4 research reports, 0 press reports and 3 of this project's own estimates, plus 6 method inputs. By size, 0% of its parts are reported or measured (A–B), 55% modelled (C) and 45% rough indications (D).

### Data coverage

- Aid to Ukraine: estimated no record found: 0, with a small upper bound
- Private donations: estimated national totals or a GDP-based estimate
- Services trade with Russia: estimated Eurostat, OECD-WTO and Bank of Russia data
- Refugee hosting: reported no refugees from Ukraine recorded
- Bought from Russia: estimated corrected for missing reports; only the paid share (90%) counts
- Sold to Russia: estimated partner data plus an estimate of goods reaching Russia via third countries
- Bought from Ukraine: reported reported 2021-2025
- Sold to Ukraine: estimated partly filled: estimated, mirror, reported
- Energy switching cost: estimated modelled per fuel and month
- Company taxes in Russia: estimated allocated by company counts and investment

### Sources, by part

### Russia kept less from fuel and goods sold here C

- official · [UN Comtrade, IMF trade statistics and Eurostat: goods trade with Russia and Ukraine](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?period=2024&partnerCode=643&flowCode=M&cmdCode=TOTAL&customsCode=C00&motCode=0&partner2Code=0)
- research · [Trade with Russia for partners that do not report (Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Libya, Iran...): tanker tracking, official statements](https://api.russiafossiltracker.com/v0/counter?format=csv&date\_from=2021-01-01&date\_to=2026-10-17&aggregate\_by=year,destination\_iso2,destination\_country,commodity\_group&commodity\_grouping=split\_gas\_oil&currency=EUR)
- own estimate · [Small purchases from Russia: the no-war middle value moved up by the measured bias of 'held flat' (back-tests on rolling origins 2005-2016, CEPII BACI)](https://github.com/intelligent-cream/war-balance/blob/main/research/2026-10/gaps/cf\_models\_r47-notes.md)

### Russia kept more from its oil bought via other countries D

- own estimate · [Laundered oil: fuel made from Russian crude, assigned to the final buyer (trading hubs pass on what they resell), valued at the Russian crude inside it](https://energyandcleanair.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CREA\_PCC\_Refined-Oil-Analysis\_19.02.2024\_Rev\_15.04.2024.pdf)

### Russian forces paid here (Wagner / Africa Corps) D

- research · [Wagner Group / Africa Corps: RUSI (2025), The Sentry, Blood Gold Report, UN Panels of Experts, US Treasury, EU and UK sanctions designations](https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/occasional-papers/wagners-business-model-syria-and-africa-profit-and-patronage)

### Russia kept more from weapons sold here D

- research · [Russian arms exports by buyer: Rosoboronexport and FSVTS statements, SIPRI fact sheets, contract reporting (S-400, Su-35, Su-57)](https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/fs\_2603\_at\_2025.pdf)

### Russia kept more from war-time fuel prices C

- own estimate · [War-time price windfall on Russian fuel: payments minus the same volume at the prices a no-war market expected (pre-invasion forecasts and futures: IMF, World Bank, EIA, ECB, ICE)](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/weo/2022/update/january/english/text.pdf)
- research · [Tanker shipping, insurance and ship sales serving Russian oil and LNG exports: CREA, KSE Institute, S&P Global, Windward, press reports](https://sanctions.kse.ua/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ROT\_July-2026.pdf)

- official · [UN Comtrade, IMF trade statistics and Eurostat: goods trade with Russia and Ukraine](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?period=2024&partnerCode=643&flowCode=M&cmdCode=TOTAL&customsCode=C00&motCode=0&partner2Code=0)
- research · [Trade with Russia for partners that do not report (Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Libya, Iran...): tanker tracking, official statements](https://api.russiafossiltracker.com/v0/counter?format=csv&date\_from=2021-01-01&date\_to=2026-10-17&aggregate\_by=year,destination\_iso2,destination\_country,commodity\_group&commodity\_grouping=split\_gas\_oil&currency=EUR)
- method input · [Price levels of what was traded with Russia and Ukraine (2019-2021 = 1): each buyer's own customs unit values per fuel and for other goods, benchmark indices (CREA, World Bank, Eurostat), gas contract prices; oil at the Russian port (FOB), outliers screened](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?period=2023&partnerCode=643&cmdCode=TOTAL&flowCode=M)
- method input · [Expected trade without the war: models back-tested on 2008, 2013 and 2016 against holding 2021 flat (UN Comtrade, World Bank WDI and commodity prices, UN voting)](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?period=2021&partnerCode=643&flowCode=X&cmdCode=TOTAL)
- method input · [Ranges of the 2022-2026 total measured on the back-tests' cumulative errors; own bands tested on their own history for Mongolia, Yemen, Tajikistan, Moldova, Türkiye, Kenya, Peru and French Polynesia](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?reporterCode=498&period=2019&flowCode=M&partnerCode=643&cmdCode=99,2711,27,31,TOTAL)
- method input · [Russia's net gain per euro of exports (taxes plus profit above a normal return): Russian Finance Ministry, company reports, IEA, Rosstat](https://minfin.gov.ru/ru/statistics/fedbud/oil)
- own estimate · [Small purchases from Russia: the no-war middle value moved up by the measured bias of 'held flat' (back-tests on rolling origins 2005-2016, CEPII BACI)](https://github.com/intelligent-cream/war-balance/blob/main/research/2026-10/gaps/cf\_models\_r47-notes.md)
- method input · [net-gain shares from official sector profitability (Russia: FNS/Rosstat by OKVED-2 activity; Ukraine: Derzhstat by KVED division), export duties collected and company results](https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons\_doc\_LAW\_55729/df3929054ebc0ff6d666accad51e6fedca8c75fe/)
- method input · [refugee hosting budgets, remittance mirror shares, national donation totals, Hong Kong gold 2026 and OECD ITIC freight margins](https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2022/10/international-migration-outlook-2022\_140ace0e/30fe16d2-en.pdf)
- own estimate · [Laundered oil: fuel made from Russian crude, assigned to the final buyer (trading hubs pass on what they resell), valued at the Russian crude inside it](https://energyandcleanair.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CREA\_PCC\_Refined-Oil-Analysis\_19.02.2024\_Rev\_15.04.2024.pdf)
- research · [Wagner Group / Africa Corps: RUSI (2025), The Sentry, Blood Gold Report, UN Panels of Experts, US Treasury, EU and UK sanctions designations](https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/occasional-papers/wagners-business-model-syria-and-africa-profit-and-patronage)
- research · [Russian arms exports by buyer: Rosoboronexport and FSVTS statements, SIPRI fact sheets, contract reporting (S-400, Su-35, Su-57)](https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/fs\_2603\_at\_2025.pdf)
- own estimate · [War-time price windfall on Russian fuel: payments minus the same volume at the prices a no-war market expected (pre-invasion forecasts and futures: IMF, World Bank, EIA, ECB, ICE)](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/weo/2022/update/january/english/text.pdf)
- research · [Tanker shipping, insurance and ship sales serving Russian oil and LNG exports: CREA, KSE Institute, S&P Global, Windward, press reports](https://sanctions.kse.ua/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ROT\_July-2026.pdf)

## Questions

### Is Niger helping Russia?

In money terms the net is −<0.01% of one year's GDP (likely from 0.17% toward Russia to 0.40% toward Ukraine; essentially zero). Chance toward Russia: 58%; 90% of the other method choices agree. Russia kept €1m (<0.01% of GDP) more than without the war, mostly Russian crude in fuel bought from refiners elsewhere (€5m; the other parts take €3m off it). The number counts money: weapons at their money value; votes, diplomacy and intent are not in it.

### Why is Niger's net so small?

Its net is essentially zero: −<0.01% of one year's GDP (likely from 0.17% toward Russia to 0.40% toward Ukraine). Near zero, and not certain mostly because of how much it would have bought from Russia without the war.

### How does Niger compare with its neighbours?

The net as a share of one year's GDP: Nigeria +0.42%, Mali +0.06%, Algeria +0.02%, Niger −<0.01%, Benin −0.36%, Burkina Faso −3.9%, Libya −6.6%.

### Where do the numbers for Niger come from?

14 sources back its parts, 1 of them official statistics. By part: Russia kept less from fuel and goods sold here: [UN Comtrade, IMF trade statistics and Eurostat: goods trade with Russia and Ukraine](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?period=2024&partnerCode=643&flowCode=M&cmdCode=TOTAL&customsCode=C00&motCode=0&partner2Code=0); Russia kept more from its oil bought via other countries: [Laundered oil: fuel made from Russian crude, assigned to the final buyer (trading hubs pass on what they resell), valued at the Russian crude inside it](https://energyandcleanair.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CREA\_PCC\_Refined-Oil-Analysis\_19.02.2024\_Rev\_15.04.2024.pdf); Russian forces paid here (Wagner / Africa Corps): [Wagner Group / Africa Corps: RUSI (2025), The Sentry, Blood Gold Report, UN Panels of Experts, US Treasury, EU and UK sanctions designations](https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/occasional-papers/wagners-business-model-syria-and-africa-profit-and-patronage). The map's panel lists every one, with its documents.

### Does Niger have sanctions on Russia?

We found no sanctions of Niger's own against Russia (checked 27 October 2026). This says nothing about whether firms there follow other countries' sanctions. Russia's list of “unfriendly” states does not name Niger.

## Nearby in the ranking

Essentially zero

- [Israel](https://warbalance.org/country/israel/) · +<0.01% · Essentially zero · +€1m · 50%
- [Guyana](https://warbalance.org/country/guyana/) · −<0.01% · Essentially zero · −<€1m · 68%
- [Bermuda](https://warbalance.org/country/bermuda/) · −<0.01% · Essentially zero · −<€1m · 53%
- Niger−<0.01% · Essentially zero · −€2m · 58%
- [Bangladesh](https://warbalance.org/country/bangladesh/) · −0.01% · Essentially zero · −€61m · 55%
- [Nicaragua](https://warbalance.org/country/nicaragua/) · −0.01% · Essentially zero · −€2m · 50%
- [Qatar](https://warbalance.org/country/qatar/) · −0.02% · Essentially zero · −€32m · 60%

## More about Niger

### Its parts, ranked against other countries

- [Weapons bought from Russia](https://warbalance.org/buyers-of-russian-weapons/)

### Every country, by year

- [2022](https://warbalance.org/ukraine-aid-2022/)
- [2023](https://warbalance.org/ukraine-aid-2023/)
- [2024](https://warbalance.org/ukraine-aid-2024/)
- [2025](https://warbalance.org/ukraine-aid-2025/)
- [2026](https://warbalance.org/ukraine-aid-2026/)
- [All topics](https://warbalance.org/topics/)

14 sources in all; the map's panel lists every one, with its documents. [Open in the map](https://warbalance.org/#NER) · [How this is measured](https://warbalance.org/how-it-works/)

[Українська](https://warbalance.org/uk/country/niger/)[Deutsch](https://warbalance.org/de/country/niger/)[Français](https://warbalance.org/fr/country/niger/)[Polski](https://warbalance.org/pl/country/niger/)[Nederlands](https://warbalance.org/nl/country/niger/)[Español](https://warbalance.org/es/country/niger/)

Cite as: War Balance, figures to August 2026, https://warbalance.org/country/niger/