Ukraine’s government writes to Shell, accusing the oil giant of ‘bankrolling Putin’s war with an accounting trick’
Ukraine has accused energy giant Shell of continuing to “bankroll Putin’s war machine” buy buying oil through an “accounting trick.”
In an angry letter sent to the oil company’s boss, Kyiv branded it “deplorable” that firm was still buying fuel linked to the Kremlin indirectly.
According to the Telegraph, despite a commitment to stop purchasing energy, Shell considers refined oil products as not being Russian if less than half of the blend is from the country.
It has been accused of buying products from Russia before selling them on as non-Russian, as long as the balance is below 49 per cent.
There were also concerns oil is still getting to the market through other sanctioned countries, with cargo being unloaded from ships without a destination.
The letter from Oleg Ustenko, an adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said “the notion that any company will continue to bankroll Putin’s war machine through an accounting trick is deplorable”, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Shell refuted the claim, with a spokesperson saying it has “not bought products exported from Russia for blending to be sold on as ‘non-Russian.’”
It also insisted it has “stopped all spot purchases of Russian crude and LNG”.
The company ditched its Russian assets, at a loss of almost £4bn.