As President Biden meets with the leaders of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom in Berlin today to discuss strategy on Russia’s war, Ukrainian group Razom We Stand calls on these nations to do more than just talk and to finally close critical loopholes that continue to help finance Russia’s war machine through its fossil fuel revenues. While weak sanctions have been imposed on Russia following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Western efforts must be strengthened now to curtail Russia’s ability to wage war and inflict death and tragic suffering on millions of Ukrainians.
Germany, which has long been hooked on Russian energy, must end its own Russian gas addiction problem. Recent data shows that between May 2023 and May 2024, Germany imported Russian oil products worth €182.4 million via Turkish refineries. Even more alarmingly, researchers estimate that up to six per cent of Germany’s gas consumption may still come from Russia through indirect routes. Germany must urgently place a complete and transparent embargo to stop Russian fossil fuels from entering its markets, especially LNG, which continues to arrive through neighbouring countries like Belgium, Netherlands and France.
During the first half of 2024, France imported €1.2 billion worth of Russian LNG, a staggering 109% increase in volume from the same period last year. France’s reliance on Russian LNG is deeply troubling, given that these energy revenues directly fuel Russia’s war efforts. Despite numerous European nations continuing to purchase Russian LNG, France leads the bloc in both absolute volumes imported and increased purchases from last year.
The United Kingdom, meanwhile, allows Glasgow-based Seapeak Maritime to operate six LNG tankers that transport Russian gas from the Arctic to Europe. This operation not only benefits Russia but also implicates UK firms in the continued export of Russian fossil fuels. Worse still, UK-based insurers continue to provide marine risk insurance for LNG tankers carrying Russian gas despite having banned insurance for Russian oil tankers. This loophole must be closed immediately. The UK cannot claim to support Ukraine while its firms help transport Russian gas that funds the relentless bombs and missiles being dropped on Ukrainian cities.
President Biden and the United States must also take immediate action. While many American companies have severed ties with Russia, SLB (formerly Schlumberger) has continued to sign contracts and supply crucial equipment to Russian oil fields, helping to sustain Putin’s war chest. SLB’s ongoing operations are a stark betrayal of Ukraine’s fight for freedom. Although the company claimed to halt shipments into Russia in 2023, reports revealed that SLB imported $17.5 million worth of equipment into Russia later that year. The US government must sanction SLB and any other firm that aids Russia’s fossil fuel sector, ensuring no American company helps fuel this brutal war.
Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Executive Director of Razom We Stand, emphasised the urgency of coordinated action: “Every day that France imports Russian LNG, the UK insures its transportation, Germany receives Russian LNG, and the US allows companies like SLB to continue business in Russia, they are fueling the very machine that is tearing Ukraine apart. While bombs fall on our cities and millions of Ukrainians suffer, these sanctions loopholes keep Putin’s war chest full. Now is the time for decisive action from world leaders. If they stand for Ukraine, they must end this complicity in Russia’s war economy—completely and immediately.”
These nations must realise that transitioning to renewable energy is not only a moral imperative but also an economic one—renewables are now cheaper than fossil fuels and offer greater energy security, reducing dependence on volatile markets while protecting against the geopolitical leverage that autocratic regimes like Russia wield through fossil fuel exports.
These global leaders must take a unified stand by closing all remaining loopholes in their sanctions frameworks. Allowing Russian LNG, oil, and fossil fuel equipment to continue flowing into global markets is a betrayal of commitments to Ukraine by Biden, Scholz, Macron and Starmer. Ending these practices would strike a critical blow to Russia’s war chest and bring the international community closer to cutting off Putin’s ability to finance his relentless brutality against Ukraine.
ENDS
Razom We Stand is a Ukrainian high-impact climate advocacy 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 appeared in top-tier international press, including The Guardian, Politico, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, The Hill, Der Spiegel, Le Monde and more.
