Kyiv, Ukraine - Ukrainian organisation Razom We Stand is alarmed and horrified to hear that German taxpayer money was used to underwrite German firm Wintershall Dea's investments in Russia, which likely ended up providing jet fuel components resulting in war crimes. The most recent shocking attack against Ukraine happened when Russian bombers destroyed civilian homes, killing 46 in Dnipro in a plane-launched missile attack on 14 January.
As ZDF and Der Spiegel report, this investment by Wintershall in Russia, was done in collaboration with Russian energy firm Gazprom. The Spiegel/ZDF exposed documents that form the government underwriting of Wintershall's investment in Russia. Copies of the documents show then minister Sigmar Gabriel personally noted in handwriting on 4 November 2015: "I support the application".
Svitlana Romanko, Director of Razom We Stand, said:
"I find it horrifying to find out that a German company has contributed to Russian war crimes, using billions in taxpayer funds to invest in Russia with its continuing onslaught and war crimes against my homeland Ukraine. It's my worst nightmare that a government minister in Europe could personally support this taxpayer funding, and yet the German government does nothing today to control its renegade firms supporting Putin's ongoing atrocities. The fact that Germany's ruling government has done nothing to act against the actions of its firms doing business with Russia, and has yet to speak out on this scandal at all, is abhorrent and should shock every citizen of Germany, just as it shocks me".
Louis Wilson, Ukraine Project Lead of Global Witness:
‘’Wintershall claims it is owed compensation from the German taxpayer for its historic mistake in Russia. Instead, the German government should tax its bloody Russian profits at 100% and use them to fund Ukraine’s green reconstruction’’.
–ENDS–
Press Contacts:
Jason Kirkpatrick, press@razomwestand.org, Snr. Communications Mgr., Razom We Stand
Mai Rosner, Global Witness, Press contact, MRosner@globalwitness.org
