Europe turns back on desperate Ukrainian plea for boycott of Russian energy

Europe today turned its back on a desperate plea from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to boycott Russian gas and oil as the most effective means of bringing Vladimir Putin’s assault to a halt.

In a video message, Mr Zelensky said that buying energy supplies from Putin while his forces are maintaining a murderous bombardment of Ukrainian cities was the equivalent of “giving money to a terrorist”.

The US is understood to be pressuring European allies to cut off energy purchases worth hundreds of millions of pounds a day, which have so far been exempted from the sanctions excluding Russia from the Swift money transfer system.

But German chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Berlin and other EU capitals had taken a “conscious decision” to keep buying from Russia, warning: "Europe’s supply with energy for heating, for mobility, power supply and for industry cannot at the moment be secured otherwise."

And, speaking during a visit to London for talks with Boris Johnson and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, Netherlands prime minister Mark Rutte backed Scholz, warning that an abrupt halt to the flow of gas and oil would create “unmanageable risks” – including in Ukraine.

The “painful reality” is that Europe is still very much reliant on Russian gas, said Mr Rutte, insisting that it will “take time” to wean the continent off its dependency.

Standing alongside the Dutch PM, Mr Johnson – who has led calls for blanket application of the Swift ban – accepted that there would have to be a “transition period” away from Russian energy but urged allies to accelerate the process.

The PM promised to set out an energy supply strategy in the coming days to protect UK households from rocketing prices.

European gas prices spiked to just over 800p per therm on Monday – an 18-fold increase in just one year – while oil surged to its highest ever level. Analysts expect this to feed through to higher prices for virtually all consumer products, adding to a cost-of-living crisis which had been expected to hit wallets hard in 2022 even before the war in Ukraine.

There was no immediate detail from Downing Street on the content of Mr Johnson’s strategy.

But Whitehall sources played down suggestions that prices could be reined in with an emergency boost to North Sea production or a return to fracking, as some Tory MPs have demanded. They pointed instead towards longer-term solutions involving accelerating the move to nuclear and renewables and insulating homes.

Higher prices for fuel resulting from the invasion are ironically helping the Kremlin to fund its attack on Ukraine, offsetting losses from sanctions elsewhere in the economy.

According to the think thank Bruegel, the value of natural gas exports to the EU has soared to around £410m a day, up from £165m in February.

Oil exports, also worth hundreds of millions a day, have been hit because shippers are wary of tankers being sanctioned before they complete their voyage to Europe, with Urals crude trading at a discount.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Sunday that Washington and its allies are having a "very active discussion" about banning the import of Russian oil and natural gas. Dressed in Army fatigues, Mr Zelensky had a blunt message to European supporters in a video recorded on the 12^th day of the war.

"If the invasion continues and Russia does not abandon its plans against Ukraine, then we need a new sanctions package," he said.

"What is needed is a boycott of Russian exports, in particular, the rejection of oil and oil products from Russia. It can be called an embargo or just morality, when you refuse to give money to a terrorist.

“Boycott imports to Russia. If they do not want to comply with civilised rules, they should not receive goods and services from civilisation either. Let the war feed them.”

His words echoed last week’s warning from Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki who told an EU summit: “Putin is taking the money from us, from the Europeans. And he is turning this into aggression, invasion.”

The 27-nation bloc relies on Russia for 40 per cent of its gas needs, with Germany its biggest customer. Income from energy sales to Europe made up 36 per cent of Russia’s budget.

While it is possible to buy oil from elsewhere, diversifying gas purchases is more complicated.

The US is already shipping Iiquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, and EU officials are also looking to countries like Azerbaijan and Qatar.

But a big chunk of any reduction will have to come from cutting demand, either by scaling back operations in energy-intensive industries or turning down thermostats and installing solar panels.

The UK receives only about 3 per cent of its gas from Russia. But former foreign minister and energy company executive Sir Alan Duncan warned that the country risks “dystopian economic collapse” if it moves to sanction Russian energy.

Mr Johnson suggested the Ukraine crisis could speed the global move towards renewable energy sources like solar and wind.

But he said: “Clearly, there is going to be a transitional period. We’re going have to look for substitute supplies from elsewhere and we’re going have to do it together across the entire coalition of countries.”