PRESS RELEASE
Kyiv, Ukraine
Ukrainian peace and renewable energy campaign group Razom We Stand demands action after new revelations about European Union shipyards repairing Russian ice-class tankers and offering them dry dock facilities. This enables Russia to continue building up its war chest as it generates funds by moving gas exports through the Arctic despite Western sanctions on its energy sector.
New research just reported by the Financial Times details that “Without the maintenance work — provided by Damen shipyard in Brest, France, and Fayard A/S in Denmark — Russia’s Yamal LNG plant would struggle to access crucial markets through winter when northern hemisphere gas prices are at their highest.”
Dr Svitlana Romanko, Ukrainian Founder and Director of Razom We Stand, stated:
“Recent strong US and EU sanctions against Russian energy exports are very welcome. Yet finding out that companies in France and Denmark are aiding Russian energy companies by offering them ship repairs is absolutely gut-wrenching for any Ukrainian. We’ve seen the horrors and atrocities caused by the war machine that these Russian energy companies help fund.
These EU-based ship yards are effectively undermining the impact of Western sanctions, which is completely unacceptable. No company should be allowed to prioritise profits over people, bolstering Putin’s most strategic industry and generating billions in revenues for Russia’s brutal war while we Ukrainians suffer. European leaders must immediately end these practices of supporting Russia’s fleet, and instead should be implementing full and transparent sanctions on all who support any efforts to help contribute funds to Russia’s war budget. Only by ending the hypocrisy and creating full sanctions can leaders help end the war and ongoing Russian atrocities in Ukraine.”
Recent reports about US and EU sanctions show they have a substantial impact when fully implemented. A recent example from China demonstrates this, as the Shandong Port Group announced last Monday that it is banning U.S.-sanctioned oil vessels from accessing its network of ports. This highlights the influence EU or US sanctions can have on other states doing business with sanctioned Russian vessels, further stifling the Kremlin’s profits from fossil fuels that fund its war in Ukraine. However, repairing and supporting Russia’s energy export fleet is sheer hypocrisy that undercuts these sanctions’ positive effects.
Sanctions targeting Russian oil and gas revenues must be comprehensive, closing every loophole and targeting every enabler, whether multinational corporations or foreign governments. Only by cutting off the Kremlin’s energy income can the international community fully support Ukraine’s victory and uphold international law.
ENDS
Razom We Stand is a Ukrainian clean energy campaign group active internationally, calling for a total and permanent embargo on Russian fossil fuels and an immediate end to all investment into Russian oil and gas companies by phasing out fossil fuels globally.
Svitlana Romanko has been previously quoted on the White House’s official website on relevant energy issues and has appeared in the top-tier international press, including Financial Times, Bloomberg, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, Newsweek, Politico, The Hill, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Le Monde and more.
CONTACT:
Jason Kirkpatrick
Head of Communications
Razom We Stand
[email protected]