Is Syria helping Ukraine or Russia? Too close to call
Syria's support for Ukraine since 2022: €4m (0.02% of one year's GDP: its aid, refugee hosting, private donations and its other parts of support, net of money flowing back). Russia kept €204m (1.0% of GDP) more than without the war. The net is 1.0% of a year's GDP toward Russia (likely from 5.0% toward Russia to 5.4% toward Ukraine; too close to call · 64% toward Russia).
likely from 5.0% toward Russia to 5.4% toward Ukraine · €200m · ≈ 0.22%/yr
Supported Ukraine + raised Russia's earnings from trade = 1.0% of GDP toward Russia. Mostly toward Russia (mostly more fuel bought from Russia).
Chance toward Russia: 64%; 100% of the other method choices agree.
Support for Ukraine
Supported Ukraine with
0.02%
€4m
likely <0.01% to 0.04% essentially zero
Russia's earnings from trade
Raised Russia's earnings from trade by
1.0%
€204m
likely from 5.1% toward Russia to 5.4% toward Ukraine too close to call · 64% toward Russia
Russia kept €204m (1.0% of GDP) more than without the war.
Russia's gain: Russia kept 1.0% of GDP more (€205m; likely from 5.1% toward Russia to 5.4% toward Ukraine)
Syria's own gain from trade with Russia: Syria kept <0.01% of GDP less from its trade with Russia (<€1m; likely from 0.01% toward Russia to 0.02% toward Ukraine)
The two lines add up to Russia's earnings from trade; their ranges do not.
Its story in short
War-time fuel prices Russia kept €94m (0.47% of GDP) more because fuel prices rose with the war.
Russian oil at a war-time discount After the sanctions, Russia sold it oil below world prices: about €359m over 2022–2026. What Russia kept on that oil is counted at those lower prices, in the part on fuel and goods it sold here: the sanctions working on prices, not a choice to buy less.
What decides this number
Chance toward Russia: 64%; 100% of the other method choices agree. Not certain, mostly because of how much it would have bought from Russia without the war.
What makes up the number
Supported Ukraine with 0.02% · €4m
Ukraine kept more from extra sales hereC
+0.02%
€4m
Raised Russia's earnings from trade by 1.0% · €204m
Russia kept more from fuel and goods sold hereC
−0.56%
€110m
Russia kept more from war-time fuel pricesC
−0.47%
€94m
Russia kept less from services sold hereC
+0.01%
€2m
Russia kept more from its oil bought via other countriesDown estimate
−<0.01%
€2m
Its firms paid Russia more taxD
−<0.01%
€1m
+ 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 2025: −€0.12bn. The yearly amounts are small against the range of the total, so their side from one year to the next is not a finding.
It bought €0.36bn from Russia in 2021 and €0.70bn in 2025 (+95%). It sold €8m to Russia in 2021 and €4m in 2025. For Syria: €94m paid above no-war prices, most of it in 2022, 71% of it on gas contracts. Most of this is fuel and food bought from Russia. Fuel is fungible and sold through many traders: the figure reflects what this economy bought, not a policy toward Russia or Ukraine. These are sales values at each year's prices; the totals count what the seller kept on them.
What it bought from Russia, by fuel
Syria's purchases from Russia, 2022 to August 2026, by fuel: by its own customs records (CIF), on the map's basis (the Russian border price, FOB) and by CREA's tracker (ship data). The map's figure is the total on the map's basis.
Fuel
Customs (CIF)
Map basis (FOB)
Tracker (CREA)
Quality
Crude oil
€1.8bn
€0.85bnrange €0.29bn to €1.6bn
€1.5bn
C (estimate)
Oil products
€1bn
€0.55bnrange €0.19bn to €1bn
€0.91bn
C (estimate)
Coal
€27m
€16mrange €5m to €30m
€28m
C (estimate)
Other goods
€0m
€0.90bn
–
All goods
€2.8bn
€2.3bn
–
Quality by year: 2022: C, 2023: A, 2024: C, 2025: C, 2026, January to August: C. C and D are estimates.
We found no sanctions of Syria'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 Syria. Checked 27 October 2026.
−0.13%−€0.18bntoo close to call · 59% toward Russia
How the number is backed
18 sources back its parts: 2 official statistics, 4 research reports, 0 press reports and 3 of this project's own estimates, plus 9 method inputs. By size, 0% of its parts are reported or measured (A–B), 99% modelled (C) and 1% rough indications (D).
Data coverage
Aid to Ukraine: estimated no record found: 0, with a small upper bound
Private donations: missing no data and no estimate; counted as zero
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 (65%) counts
Sold to Russia: estimated partner data plus an estimate of goods reaching Russia via third countries
Bought from Ukraine: estimated partly filled: estimated, mirror
Sold to Ukraine: estimated partly filled: mirror
Energy switching cost: estimated modelled per fuel and month
Company taxes in Russia: estimated allocated by company counts and investment
In money terms the net is −1.0% of one year's GDP (likely from 5.0% toward Russia to 5.4% toward Ukraine; too close to call · 64% toward Russia). Chance toward Russia: 64%; 100% of the other method choices agree. Russia kept €204m (1.0% of GDP) more than without the war. Most of this is fuel and food bought from Russia. Fuel is fungible and sold through many traders: the figure reflects what this economy bought, not a policy toward Russia or Ukraine. The number counts money: weapons at their money value; votes, diplomacy and intent are not in it.
Does Syria trade with Russia?
It bought €0.70bn from Russia in 2025 (€0.36bn in 2021), and sold €4m to Russia. What counts here is the change in what Russia kept from that trade (taxes and profit, not sales) against a world without the war: Russia kept €204m (1.0% of GDP) more than without the war.
How much has Syria given to Ukraine?
Syria's support for Ukraine from 2022 to August 2026: €4m, 0.02% of one year's GDP (likely <0.01% to 0.04%). It counts its aid (weapons at market value when delivered, loans at their gift value), its share of IMF and World Bank lending, the cost of hosting refugees, private donations, an estimate of undisclosed military aid and purchases from Ukraine against the no-war level, net of money flowing back.
How does Syria compare with its neighbours?
The net as a share of one year's GDP: Lebanon +2.8%, Israel +<0.01%, Iraq −0.22%, Jordan −0.35%, Syria −1.0%.
We found no sanctions of Syria'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 Syria.