German Galushchenko: russia's losses from the EU oil embargo are equal to a third of its military budget in 2021

An embargo on crude oil and petroleum products will undermine the kremlin's economic capacity to finance the war. The Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko wrote on his Facebook page, commenting on the decision of the leaders of the European Union to impose an embargo on russian oil.

The ban is partial and will apply to tanker oil and petroleum products, which is 2/3 of supplies to the European Union. Temporary exclusion is envisaged for pipeline oil. But by the end of the year, russian oil imports to the EU should fall by 90%. Bloomberg estimates russia's annual losses due to the EU embargo at about $10 billion, because the rf will be forced to sell its oil to Asia at a significant discount. Another $12 billion in losses will come from Poland and Germany's refusal of russian oil, which the countries receive through the northern branch of the Druzhba pipeline.

According to the Minister, together this is a third of russia's military budget in 2021.

"Unfortunately, it has proved impossible to ban petroleum at once. But the very fact of the embargo will make russian oil even more "toxic, will pave the way for new suppliers, and undermine the kremlin's economic capacity to finance the war. I am grateful to all the leaders of the European Union for another show of solidarity with Ukraine, as well as to the European Commission, which made every effort to ensure that this decision was made," German Galushchenko said.

He noted that since the beginning of the russian invasion, Ukraine has tried to persuade the EU to abandon russia's energy resources, as the money from the sale of fossil fuels has filled and continues to fill russia's military budget.

"The decision on the embargo was a sign that the principles matter, that values are more important than prices. This value dimension is especially felt in the position of Poland, which is one of the flagships of sanctions against russia. As well as Germany, which showed the political will and quickly found a sustitute for russian oil. Having demonstrated that the abandonment of russian hydrocarbons for Europe is not a matter of survival, but determination. A little more time, and russia will no longer be able to impose its will on anyone by blackmailing energy. It will not be able to wage war due to lack of weapons and money. The country-fuel station is over," German Galushchenko summed up.