The UK reported no fuel imports from Russia for the first time on record, according to the National Office of Statistics (ONS).
The historic announcement marked a fall of £499 million from the monthly average for the 12 months to February 2022, after the UK government said it would phase out all Russian oil imports by the end of 2022.
The government is set to follow its end to oil imports with an end to Russian liquified gas soon afterwards.
Russia was recorded as the UK’s largest refined oil supplier before the Ukraine invasion, accounting for 24.1% of all imports, alongside 5.9% of the UK’s crude oil imports and 4.9% for gas.
The country has since turned to alternative supplies of refined oil from Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Kuwait over the past six months.
The organisation also confirmed imports of Russian goods declined to £33 million in June 2022, currently at the lowest level since records began in January 1997.
The ONS commented the fall was linked to economic sanctions against the country due to the war in Ukraine, however it said self-sanctioning by traders voluntarily sourcing alternatives to Russia goods might be an extra factor.
Imports of all commodities from Russia dropped against the monthly average for the 12 months to February 2022, and although exports to the country rose slightly in June 2022, their levels fell by 66.9% (£168 million) from the monthly average for the period.
The organisation mentioned exports of most commodities to Russia fell significantly by June this year, with a remarkable 91.3% plummet in machinery and transport equipment.
Chemicals were reportedly the only commodity with a higher level of exports to Russia, driven by a 61.8% increase in exports of medical and pharmaceutical products, which have not been sanctioned by the UK government.
