In response to today’s announcement of the updated REPowerEU proposals, the Ukrainian climate campaign group Razom We Stand welcomes these long-awaited steps towards European energy security but regrets the European Commission’s decision to delay the ban on short-term contracts of Russian gas by half a year. We saw firsthand last night, with the devastating attack on Kyiv, which claimed the lives of at least 16 innocent people, that Putin responds to hesitation with murder and destruction.
The group warns that this dangerous concession allows billions more to flow into the Kremlin’s war chest despite pledges to end fossil fuel ties with Russia. Since the beginning of the war, Russia has earned EUR 895 billion in revenue from fossil fuel exports, and European Union countries purchased more than EUR 210 billion of these exports.
By not moving more quickly, the EU is sending the wrong message, both to Ukrainians under daily attack and to the entire world—that human lives are still negotiable when fossil fuel profits are at stake.
Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Executive Director of Razom We Stand, said: “We welcome this attempt to further curtail European money transfers to Russia’s war chest through EU energy purchases. Yet it is unacceptable that more than three years into Russia’s full-scale war, the EU has delayed ending purchases under short-term contracts by half a year, instead of as initially envisaged by the RePowerEU Roadmap.
Delaying the ban on Russian gas under short-term contracts isn’t sound policy—it’s a form of complicity. As missiles rain down on Ukrainian cities, like the horrific strike in Kyiv last night that claimed at least 16 innocent lives, the EU continues to stall while gas money flows straight into the Kremlin’s war chest. This isn’t about energy security—it’s a concession to Putin. The decision to delay reflects the ongoing influence of corporate lobbies and certain EU governments putting profits and politics above Ukrainian lives.”
Although the EU’s REPowerEU strategy was launched in 2022 to eliminate dependence on Russian fossil fuels, the continued access to European ports for Russian LNG—particularly for spot market trades and transshipments—has remained a key loophole. Razom We Stand and allied groups have repeatedly called for a full and immediate ban on Russian LNG imports and transits through EU territory.
Razom We Stand’s recent report, Getting Rid of Russian Gas Dependency in EU Member States: A Case-by-Case Approach, shows that the EU already has everything it needs—the technology, the tools, and the policies—to break free from Russian LNG gas. But despite this, following today’s announcement, it is clear the EU continues to drag its feet and prolong the process to the detriment of the innocent people of Ukraine.
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.
