Ukraine energy giant tells world ‘don’t buy Russian oil’

Ukraine’s biggest energy company has told the BBC the West should stop buying gas and oil from Russia.

Yuriy Vitrenko, who heads Naftogaz, said Russian sanctions should be stronger and aimed directly at energy.

To stop the war from spreading, “it should make this very clear decision to get rid of this dependence on Russian gas and oil,” he said.

With economic sanctions, “you have to feel like you’re at war with Russia,” he added.

Russian oil and gas exports are exempt from Western sanctions for the time being. But on Thursday, Russia’s second-biggest oil company Lukoil called for an end to the conflict, saying it was concerned about the “tragic events in Ukraine”.

Mr Vitrenko said everything should be done to prevent the Putin regime – which he described as Russia’s “killing machine” – from receiving any revenue.

He accused the Russian President of using the oil revenues “to kill innocent people”.

Mr Vitrenko said Russia should be treated like a rogue state, much like the West is treating Iran, and that sanctions against Russia should reflect that.

The head of the state oil and gas company added that energy sanctions should last longer.

“I would say that it is not a short-term measure because I believe that in the longer term you can achieve climate protection goals without Russian gas, so it’s just a matter of choice.”

He added that he believed the oil and gas pipelines deterred attacks and that he had seen evidence that Russian special forces had marked them.

Mr Vitrenko welcomed Germany’s move to halt the Nord Stream 2 gas project, which was designed to double the amount of Russian gas flowing directly to Germany.

Although he thought the move was too late, he said it was “better late than never”.

It was a shock “not only for us, but also for the Germans” that Putin acted in this way, said Vitrenko.

He said it was a “pleasant surprise that Europe, and Germany in particular, is finally getting serious about making sure that Putin no longer gets a source of income.”

Mr Vitrenko’s voice joins a growing chorus pressuring policymakers in the US and Europe to sanction Russian oil and gas.

On Thursday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) presented a plan for the European Union to cut Russian imports by a third within a year and urged the European Union not to sign new supply deals with Russia’s Gazprom.

“No one is under any illusions anymore. Russia’s use of its natural gas resources as an economic and political weapon demonstrates that Europe must act quickly to be ready to face significant uncertainties over Russian gas supplies next winter,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

Meanwhile in Washington, top Democrat Nancy Pelosi said she supports a ban on Russian energy, while US Senator John Kennedy, a Republican, said Western sanctions left a big hole by leaving energy transactions exempt.

“How are we going to kick Russia out of the international community and global markets if we don’t attack its oil?” he said at a hearing with the US Federal Reserve Governor.

Sanctions against Russia have already disrupted energy markets, urging Western companies like ExxonMobil, Shell and BP, among others, to take steps to stop investing in the country.