With G7 leaders currently meeting in Alberta, Canada, Ukrainian energy and climate campaign group Razom We Stand is calling for urgent action to shut down the Kremlin’s dirty oil exports and dismantle the enabling murky international trade environment that props up Russia’s fossil-driven war economy.
Despite the 2022 introduction of the G7-EU oil price cap and Europe’s 90% ban on Russian oil imports, Russia earned over $170 billion in fossil fuel export revenue between 2023 and 2024, largely through a growing fleet of uninsured, ageing tankers operating under obscure ownership—dubbed the “shadow fleet.” These shipments often avoid oversight by Western insurers and maritime authorities, exposing the weakness of the current sanctions regime. Without enforcement, any price cap is symbolic. The G7 must pair the cap with real enforcement: blacklist violators, sanction insurers, and apply secondary sanctions to key importers of Russian oil.
The G7 and EU oil price cap mechanisms have failed to meaningfully curb the Kremlin’s fossil fuel revenues. We demand a rapid transition from weak sanctions towards robust, enforced measures that address the opaque systems enabling Russia’s war economy.
Founder and Executive Director of Razom We Stand, Dr Svitlana Romanko, has a clear message to G7 leaders: “It is time to close the financial and legal backdoors that let Russian oil keep flowing without restrictions to global markets. Without massive oil revenues, the Kremlin will not be able to finance new massacres and aggression against democratic states. If G7 countries are serious about undermining Putin’s war machine, they must push for the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to blacklist Russia and clean up global shipping by compelling the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to eliminate the shadow fleet. Without transparent trade, anti-money laundering financial practices and the rule of law at sea, there can be no real security for Europe or the world”
Razom We Stand points to the use of shell companies, non-compliant flag states, and murky financial intermediaries as key enablers of Russia’s continued highly profitable oil trade despite price caps and embargoes. Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklisting would significantly tighten global due diligence and compliance obligations, forcing financial institutions, traders and insurers to sever ties with Russian-linked entities. Meanwhile, reforms at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to track beneficial ownership and enforce stricter transparency rules on vessel operations could break the backbone of the so-called “shadow fleet” used to ship sanctioned Russian oil.
Razom We Stand is urging the G7 to adopt the following actions at the summit:
- Lower the oil price cap to $20–25 per barrel, in line with market conditions and Ukraine’s national position
- Blacklist Russia at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to shut off illicit financial flows and tighten compliance
- Dismantle the Russian shadow fleet by enforcing maritime transparency, beneficial ownership rules, and stricter oversight of insurers and flag states
- Impose severe secondary sanctions on key Russian oil importers, including India and China
Russia has turned international shipping into a lawless zone, and the G7’s failure to respond decisively has emboldened this norm-breaking. We demand G7 action to restore the rule of law at sea by regulating insurers, brokers, and flag states, enabling illicit Russian oil shipments.
The group warns that the current sanctions regime is allowing Russia to weaponise international trade and undermine global security. This is not just about sanctions—it’s about confronting a global criminal energy system sustained by weak regulation, shadow intermediaries, and political hesitation.
Dr Romanko added, “The G7 must stop ‘keeping the oil flowing’ at the expense of global security. The focus must shift from market stability in the interest of private profit to stopping war and saving lives by dismantling Russia’s fossil-fuelled war machine.”
ENDS
Razom We Stand is a Ukraine-based campaign group active internationally. It calls for a total and permanent embargo on Russian fossil fuels and an immediate end to all investment in Russian oil and gas companies by phasing out fossil fuels globally.
Razom We Stand has appeared in the top-tier international press, including Financial Times, Bloomberg, Politico, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, The Guardian, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, Newsweek, The Hill, Rolling Stone, and more.
