Ukraine calls on commodity traders to stop handling Russian oil

Ukraine calls on commodity traders to stop handling Russian oil

The Ukrainian government has called on some of the world’s largest energy traders to stop handling Russian crude, of which the companies have discharged more than 20mn barrels since the outbreak of war.

Vitol, Trafigura, Glencore and Gunvor have continued to lift large volumes of Russian crude and products including diesel, according to ship tracking and port data.

Oleg Ustenko, economic adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote to the four companies at the end of March demanding that they stop trading Russian hydrocarbons immediately since export revenues are funding Moscow’s purchase of weapons and missiles.

“The fact is that traders are trading and they are helping Russia to receive this blood money,” Ustenko told the Financial Times. “They are in this cycle of financing war crimes and genocide against Ukrainian citizens.”

Russian exports of crude oil, refined products and gas to Europe alone are estimated to be providing Moscow with $850mn a day and have led Russia to a record current-account surplus, according to data from the Bruegel and the International Institute of Finance think-tanks.

Images of civilian deaths have prompted Ukrainian leaders to accuse Russia of war crimes, a claim Moscow denies.

While Russian oil and gas are not directly under EU sanctions, refiners,