Today, a new factsheet is being released on Yamal LNG, one of Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas projects. The document is produced by Razom We Stand, a Ukrainian clean energy campaign group fighting to cut off the money fuelling Russia’s brutal war, and the international Germany-based group Urgewald. As the European Union finalises and prepares to announce its 20th Sanctions package on Russia on the fourth anniversary of the war on 24 February, this information is of utmost urgency. The factsheet sheds light on how costly Russia’s Arctic gas exports continue to flow to Europe, filling the Kremlin’s war chest, contributing to European energy and national security risks.
Located on the Yamal Peninsula in Russia’s Arctic, Yamal LNG ships tens of millions of tonnes of liquefied gas and gas condensate each year to buyers in the European Union, Turkey and across Asia. The new factsheet tracks the project’s key shareholders, long‑term contracts, tanker fleet and insurers, revealing how European companies, ports and shipyards continue to underpin Russian LNG exports.
Dr. Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Executive Director of Razom We Stand, said,
“Every tanker that ships Russia’s Yamal LNG means more money for missiles landing on Ukrainian cities. Our new factsheet shows in black and white how European buyers, shipowners and insurers are still enabling Putin’s war machine even as the fourth anniversary of this brutal war approaches. Politicians can no longer pretend they don’t know where this money comes from – they must act to stop it.”
The factsheet maps Yamal LNG cargoes delivered since February 24, 2022, including volumes landing in EU ports such as France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands, often insured or shipped by European companies like Seapeak in the UK. Involvement of Germany’s SEFE, France’s TotalEnergies and Spain’s Naturgy are also featured.
The factsheet highlights the critical role of specialised ice‑class tankers, the European and Asian shipyards that maintain them, and the international insurers that continue to cover this fleet. By bringing this data together in one place, Razom We Stand and Urgewald provide a practical tool for journalists, policymakers and campaigners seeking to close the loopholes that still allow Russian fossil fuel money to flow.
Clean energy is already cheaper than outdated fossil fuels and creates quality, well‑paid jobs in Europe and beyond. Instead of locking in decades‑long contracts for risky Russian LNG, governments must invest in local clean energy that cuts bills, boosts energy security, and dries up funding for war.
Razom We Stand calls on EU leaders to take urgent action:
- Introduce a full and transparent embargo on Russian LNG, including Yamal LNG, in line with existing measures on oil and coal.
- Close transit and transshipment loopholes with a strong Maritime Services ban as part of the EU’s coming 20th Russian Sanctions Package
- Tougher enforcement with ship inspections and seizures, like the US, UK, France and Germany, increasing the frequency of the rare enforcement done already.
- Closing the refining loophole: ban on imports of oil products from refineries in third countries that process Russian crude oil.
- Rapid support of energy efficiency measures and rapid scale-up of cheaper decentralised clean energy to replace costly imported Russian fossil fuels, and create real energy security in both Ukraine and Europe.
By creating full and transparent embargos on Russian fossil fuels, including LNG from Yamal, governments can help dry up Putin’s war chest and bring Ukraine much closer to peace, while accelerating the shift to clean, secure and affordable energy.
The EU must continue to end the flow of funds going to Russia to keep the war machine running, for a just peace for Ukraine.
