Russian anti-war figures call for EU to freeze Russian oil, gas payments

Exiled Russian public figures are calling for the EU to deprive Russia of revenue from oil and gas sales in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, by directing payments for those supplies to Russian bank accounts in the EU that have already been frozen under sanctions.

The Anti-War Committee of Russia, whose members included former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and ex-world chess champion Garry Kasparov, welcomed the sanctions imposed against Moscow so far, saying they had had "a sobering effect on many leaders in Russia."

"But so far [they] have not led to the abandonment of military aggression against Ukraine," the group said in a statement on March 15.

The conflict in Ukraine is now in its 22nd day, and while peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv are taking place daily, there are signs that Russian troops are increasing their attacks, including against civilians. The EU is seeking to drastically cut its use of Russian gas, estimating it could cut purchases by as much as two thirds in a single year and phase them out completely by 2030. But it has refrained from imposing sanctions directly on these imports, as doing so would exacerbate Europe's already-severe energy crisis.

"These sanctions have not yet hit the most important resource for financing aggression – foreign exchange earnings from the supply of energy resources and other raw materials to the EU, primarily payments for natural gas supplies," the committee said. "Now this money is landing in Kharkiv and Mariupol in the forms of bombs and missiles."

However, the group said it understood the difficulties some European countries faced in completely abandoning Russian energy imports in a short time.

"But we are convinced of the need to take a new step, limiting the financial capacity of the Putin regime to finance military aggression," the statement read. "We urge Western countries to direct payments for contracted Russian oil and gas supplies to Russian bank accounts in EU member states that are already under sanctions and cannot be used to pay for Putin's aggression in Ukraine."

"Ultimately, permissions for how to use these should be determined by the EU member states following consultations with the legitimate government of Ukraine," the group said.