REACTION: “Now Is Not the Time”: Ukrainian Climate Campaigners Slam US Move to Relax Russia Energy Sanctions

As the USA moves today to further relax energy sanctions on Russia, Ukrainian campaign group Razom We Stand is pushing for both immediate and long-term solutions to the problems caused by fossil fuel-funded petrodictators like Russia’s Putin, and calling for the strengthening, not weakening of energy sanctions on Russia, to help quickly end its war of aggression on Ukraine. Now is not the time for easing energy sanctions on Russia, a backwards idea that allows for prolonging Russia’s brutality, creating further sacrifice of Ukrainian lives.

Dr Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Executive Director of Razom We Stand, said
“As we in Ukraine continue to face daily brutal attacks from Russia, a country funding its brutal war with fossil fuel exports, it’s shocking to hear about any relaxation of US energy sanctions against Russia. With the Russian economy on the ropes due to the very effective sanctions that have been slowly forcing Russia to the negotiating table, now is not the time to abandon, but to impose much tougher sanctions that could actually speed things up to end the war on Ukraine started by Russia’s petrodictator Putin. The world needs less war, not more funding for Putin’s war machine.

“The problem of global reliance on fossil fuels has global instability and economic catastrophe since the OPEC energy crisis of the 1970s, and continues to have terrible ramifications, including more wars, a global air-quality health crisis causing loss of millions, and a worsening climate catastrophe that economists say costs billions. The solution is known; we need more cheap, clean energy for real economic and energy security. The time is now to boost sanctions on Russian fossil fuels, and speed up the transition to secure clean energy, and end the war on Ukraine.”