As the 50th G7 Summit in Fasano, Italy, comes soon to a predictably underwhelming close, with multiple reports in the press of their weak draft final statement on sanctions against Russia, the Ukrainian group Razom We Stand once again calls for urgent and decisive measures to address the ongoing war in Ukraine. These measures include cutting off financial flows from Russian fossil fuel exports and intensifying support for Ukraine's clean energy transition to finally put a halt to Putin’s war chest.
Following reports of the G7's final statement (as of 14 June 16:40 CET/local Italy time), Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Director of Razom We Stand, remarked: "Disappointingly, the weak G7 conclusion has been more of the same that we have come to expect — half measures that fall short of the decisive action needed to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine. The G7 must confront the harsh truth that global purchases of Russian fossil fuels are financing Russia’s relentless aggression against Ukraine, causing immense human suffering and devastating our energy infrastructure. They can either continue pumping dollars into Russia's energy export industry, enabling this violence and brutality to persist, or take comprehensive action to implement a full set of sanctions and support Ukraine’s transition to cheaper clean, sustainable energy, which provides real energy security. Further inaction will render them complicit in this ongoing bloodshed, a historical stain that won’t be forgotten.”
Svitlana Romanko attended the G7 Energy Ministers meeting at the Ukraine Recovery Conference on Tuesday, where Ms Romanko spoke to G7 officials personally, demanding a full embargo on Russian oil and gas. She engaged in follow-up discussions with representatives from the US, Italy, and Germany, emphasizing the critical role of banning Russian fossil fuels in defeating Russia and enabling Ukraine's renewable energy rebuild. Both the US and Italy indicated that sanctions on Russia will be significantly tightened this weekend at the meeting in Apulia to dismantle their war economy further, although that doesn’t seem to be reflected in media reports of the final statement.
The G7 continue to peddle the narrative that they support Ukraine, yet they seemingly refuse to take responsibility to truly stand with Ukraine and take meaningful steps to address the root causes of this conflict: the revenues Russia derives from fossil fuels.
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.
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.
