T&E Study: Germany's Oil Purchases Funnel 65 Million USD into Putin's War Chest

A new study by the European environmental umbrella organization Transport & Environment (T&E) has found that Germany imports Russian oil worth 65 million dollars daily. The organization calls on the German government to join a global embargo on Russian oil to stop financing Putin's war in Ukraine. Recently, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck (Green Party) spoke out against a ban on energy imports from Russia against the backdrop of the Russian war against Ukraine. Habeck stated that social peace in Germany would be endangered. From T&E’s perspective, this position urgently needs to be reconsidered.

"Germany sends 65 million dollars to Putin every day, thereby financing his war in Ukraine. There is no social peace anywhere in Europe as long as the suffering of people in Ukraine continues. An oil embargo would hit Putin's regime hard and make it extremely difficult for him to continue his war. At the same time, German politicians need to advance the mobility and transport transition faster than ever to prevent Russian oil from simply being replaced by Saudi oil," appeals William Todts, Executive Director at T&E.

According to T&E data, Germany is dependent on Russian oil for more than a third of its crude oil. While some European countries like Slovakia get over 90 percent of their oil from Russia, the dependence of the continent as a whole is around 30 percent, which is significant but not insurmountable, as the analysis shows. Unlike gas, most oil imports in Germany come via oil tankers and ports. Only 8 percent of European oil deliveries come via Russian pipelines, which means it is possible to source oil from other countries in the short term.