At today's Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, attended by multiple Heads of State, two leading Ukrainian NGOs emphasised the urgent need for Ukraine's integration into the European energy market, the scaling up of renewable energy investments and the need to sanction the Russian fossil fuel industry that funds Putin’s war chest.
Day one of the conference underscored the scale of Ukraine's reconstruction needs and the importance of mobilising financial resources through continued international aid commitments, catalysing private investment and removing the legislative, technical and economic barriers for a successful massive deployment of decentralised renewable energy. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, spoke at the conference and pleaded for help in decentralising the country’s energy system (with generators, solar panels and wind turbines).
Highlighting the necessity of sanctioning Russian fossil fuels, Svitlana Romanko from Razom We Stand, and Irina Pavlova at B4 Ukraine stressed that concrete steps must be taken to defund Russia's war effort and secure European energy stability. The call to action aims to forge a resilient, energy-independent Ukraine and a safer Europe for all.
Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Director of Razom We Stand, said, “Today’s agenda at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) made the need clear: we must fast-track Ukraine’s integration into the European energy market and scale up renewable energy investments, and we need this done now. Sanctioning Russian fossil fuels, a topic that wasn’t discussed today, remains crucial to drying up Putin’s war chest, crippling Russia’s brutal war campaign, and securing European energy stability. Together, we will forge a resilient, energy-independent Ukraine and a safer Europe for all.”
Irina Pavlova, Communications Lead at B4 Ukraine, said: “Any substantive discussion on Ukraine’s recovery and green transition must begin with concrete steps to defund Russia’s war effort and its daily attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure, including its energy grid. Closing the existing sanctions loophole in the energy sector is paramount, including a full ban on the Russian LNG flows into Europe as well as its transshipment via EU ports. Otherwise, we risk having endless discussions and many more years of senseless suffering endured by Ukrainians.”
ENDS
Razom We Stand is a Ukrainian organisation 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.
B4Ukraine is a global coalition of civil society organisations driven by a common goal: to block access to the economic resources behind Russian aggression. B4U aims to restore the peace and security of Ukraine by asking responsible businesses to respect human rights in word and in deed and #ExitRussia to #StopFundingTheWar in Ukraine.
Svitlana Romanko has appeared in top international press, including Der Spiegel, Tagesspiegel, DW, Le Monde, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Hill, Bloomberg, Washington Post, CNN, NBC and Politico. Photos are available here.
Press contact:
Paraic Walker
International Communications Specialist Razom We Stand
press@razomwestand.org
