The complete embargo on supplies of oil and gas from Russia required - Vitrenko

What happened. The chairman of the Board at the "Naftogaz Ukraine" NJSC, Yuriy Vitrenko, stated that the sanctions of the western countries against the Russian energy sector had been imposed with delays and lacked efficiency to stop the aggressor.

Source. Press release of the "Naftogaz" reports that information.

Details. The head of "Naftogaz" told in his briefing at the Lviv media center that the company had been persuading European partners to give up Russian oil and gas for a long time.

"Unfortunately, Europe starts doing it with a great delay. Now, criminal actions of the Russian troops endanger not just internal supply to Ukraine but also transit to the EU countries," Vitrenko emphasized.

He noted that the sanctions already imposed by the West are inefficient: "We need a complete embargo on supplies of oil and gas from Russia. The introduction of the so-called escrow accounts can be a temporary solution – the mechanism preventing Russia from immediate access to the money acquired on oil and gas export. All this money will be frozen on special accounts so that Russians will only get it when they withdraw their troops from Ukraine. There have been instances of applying that mechanism to the countries like Russia."

Vitrenko highly appreciated the actions of private western companies, which refused to acquire Russian oil and gas and cooperate with Russia. However, large service companies continue their operation there, thus significantly assisting the aggressor in increasing production.

"It means a lot that the private sector has decided to leave Russia: it is a clear indicator that private international companies think Putin is a criminal – and leave the country that is turning into a nazi state rapidly. However, more needs to be done. There still are international companies that continue their operation in Russia. For instance, the Big 4 and such service companies as Halliburton and Schlumberger. Without them, the oil sector of Russia will be unable to develop. If they leave, they will cause severe losses to Putin's economy. Therefore we ask them to leave the Russian market without the slightest delay," Vitrenko said.