Amid today’s controversy over oil, war funding, and the Druzhba pipeline, Ukrainian campaign group Razom We Stand calls on the EU to prioritise peace and energy security by permanently shutting down this fossil fuel lifeline to Russia, starving Vladimir Putin’s war machine, and accelerating the shift to resilient, cheaper clean energy alternatives.
This comes as surging oil and LNG prices from the Iran war have already funnelled €6 billion in extra fossil fuel revenues to Russia since late February, averaging €510 million daily—a 14% boost that directly funds its aggression in Ukraine. As the European Commission itself is pushing renewable energy to lower surging energy prices, combat energy poverty and increase energy independence, Razom We Stand is telling European leaders to stop funding war and dirty fossil energy, and begin to implement the common-sense policies that it already recommends.
Dr Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Executive Director of Razom We Stand, said:
“The EU’s real path to peace and energy security isn’t begging petrodictator Putin for oil scraps via Druzhba—it’s slamming the door shut for good, ending subsidies to Russia’s war chest, and pivoting to cheap, clean energy that no petrodictator can weaponise. Reopening Druzhba would pour billions more into bombs that kill Ukrainians, prolonging brutality while Europe pays premium prices. We’ve seen Russia rake in up to $150 million extra per day from oil price spikes; enough is enough. The solution is to stop wasting money, and quickly pivot to cheaper renewables, efficiency—not propping up Putin’s fossil-fueled invasion.”
Razom We Stand highlights that clean energy—solar, wind, batteries—now undercuts fossil fuels in cost and reliability, offering true independence without geopolitical blackmail.
The group demands:
- Permanent Druzhba closure: No exemptions; redirect via other available energy sources.
- Strengthen sanctions / Confiscate shadow fleet violators; risky old tankers, often with false flags and Russian security operatives, should be confiscated.
- Fast-track clean pivot: divert subsidies from outdated fossil fuels, triple EU renewables investment for energy security and peace dividends.
“Peace starts with choking off Russia’s fossil funding. Druzhba must stay closed—Europe’s future depends on clean energy, not Putin’s pipelines,” added Romanko.
