From Gazprom Sponsors to War Narratives: Ukrainian group Razom We Stand Exposes OIES, Novatek in Russia’s Shadowy Influence Network

Ukrainian campaign group Razom We Stand today launches “Fueling Russia’s Oil and Gas Influence in Europe,” a major investigative report detailing how Moscow has adapted its tactics to corrupt energy policy since the 2022 invasion. Despite EU sanctions, Russian fossil fuel interests sustain revenues and erode political will through covert networks, unsanctioned firms like Novatek that keep operating, and “Western experts” who echo Kremlin narratives on European sanctions and gas dependency.

The report spotlights, as an example, the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES), an independent research body (unaffiliated with Oxford University), whose Gas Research Programme has long received sponsorship from Gazprom through its subsidiary Gazprom Marketing & Trading, and Nord Stream partners like Shell, OMV, Wintershall, Uniper, and Engie—many with deep pre-2022 Russian ties. OIES insists that sponsors do not shape its research; however, its output, including that of Senior Research Fellows, consistently downplays sanctions’ bite, defends Russian gas as vital to Europe’s security of supply and affordability, and omits discussion on security risks and the urgency of energy transition to cheaper domestic renewables and energy efficiency.

Dr Katja Yafimava, an OIES expert since 2006 and UNECE Group of Experts on Gas Vice-Chair since March 2025, has promoted narratives overlapping Kremlin lines: Gazprom’s exclusive access to OPAL pipeline as “rules-based,” EU Gas Directive tweaks as bias against Nord Stream 2 (NS2) project, NS2’s inevitability despite U.S. sanctions, rubles-for-gas compliance as pragmatic in 2022, and REPowerEU as a “roadblock” risking blackouts in EU member states. Even post-invasion, her UNECE presentations (2022–2025) focus on Russian gas “comeback” conditions, sanctions exemptions, and supply excuses, and portray EU policy decisions as drivers of price shocks—framing Europe as too dependent to fully cut ties with Russia, without discussing Ukrainian perspectives or enforcement solutions.

Dr Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Executive Director of Razom We Stand, said:
“Russia’s fossil influence didn’t vanish with sanctions—it evolved into shadow fleets earning billions for Russia, and unsanctioned LNG continuing to be imported to the EU, as OIES-style pro-Russian ‘expertise’ normalises Putin’s war funding. Europe must sanction Novatek’s Mikhelson, ban Russian LNG now, close shipping loopholes, and demand transparency from think tanks laundering Kremlin narratives as neutral expert analysis. Peace and security come from choking dirty revenues, not indulging petrodictators.”

The new report also discusses Hungary as a case study, highlighting Normeston Trading—a Cyprus-headquartered oil trader—as one conduit for Russian crude via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia. Investigative reporting has documented Normeston’s connections to Russian energy figures and Hungarian business networks linked to the ruling elite. These ties explain Hungary’s desperate attempts to defend the exemption from the EU-wide ban on Russian oil imports for the Druzhba pipeline and continuous resistance to sanctions on Russian oil.

The report urges a full ban on Russian LNG, sanctions on Novatek leadership, a crackdown on the shadow fleet, and tightening think tank sponsorship disclosure rules to dismantle the Russian influence apparatus.​Full Report here: “Fueling Russia’s Oil and Gas Influence in Europe”