London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 14, 2025

Kyiv says Big Oil should pay to rebuild Ukraine’s shattered infrastructure

Kyiv says Big Oil should pay to rebuild Ukraine’s shattered infrastructure

Energy minister also warns the war risks dragging on forever unless the West closes sanctions loopholes on the Kremlin’s hydrocarbon revenues.

Major international energy companies that raked in bumper profits because of price spikes over the course of the war should pour some of that cash into rebuilding Ukraine's shattered power infrastructure, Kyiv's Energy Minister German Galushchenko told POLITICO.

In a wide-ranging interview, Galushchenko also argued the West needed to close sanctions loopholes on Russian energy sales to prevent an "endless war" in Ukraine, and said Kyiv could provide alternative nuclear fuel so some EU countries could wean themselves off their dependence on Russian supplies.

"A lot of energy companies get enormous windfall profits due to the war. So we estimated this at more than $200 billion," Galushchenko said on a visit to Brussels. "They get this money because we are fighting, because of the war."

"I think it would be fair to share this money with Ukraine. I mean, to help us to restore, to rebuild the energy sector," he added.

The $200 billion figure given by Galushchenko has been widely cited as the profits of five top companies — BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Total and Shell — in 2022. The Kyiv School of Economics estimates the damage to Ukrainian infrastructure at close to $140 billion.

The minister noted that a Lithuanian company, Ignitis Group, is already looking to hand over some 10 percent of its profits to help reconstruction in Ukraine and said bigger companies should follow suit.

Galushchenko also warned that Moscow would be able to wage a perpetual war in Ukraine for as long as the Kremlin is able to rake in cash from selling fossil fuels. Despite sanctions against Russian oil imports imposed by the EU and a price cap set by the G7 club of rich democracies, he warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin was still finding ways to beat international embargoes.

"If on one side you're trying to restrict them and on the other you're giving them opportunities, you'll allow them to make endless war," he complained, arguing the Kremlin was using its energy export earnings "not to help Russian people to live better" but "to produce weapons" and keep the war going.

"This money costs Ukrainian lives," he said.

Russia boasts that it has diverted its oil supplies to friendly countries such as China and India, but there are signs that restrictions from big Western markets are biting hard.

Calculations by Bloomberg on March 3 suggested that tax revenues from oil almost halved in February from a year ago, while gas revenue dropped 42 percent from a year earlier given reduced sales to Europe. The EU's ban on Russian oil has been a key factor is torpedoing the price of Urals crude.

Keen to keep up that pressure, Galushchenko protested that some oil was still seeping under the cordon.

Ukraines Energy Minister German Galushchenko


"It's important not to help Russia to escape sanctions," he said, arguing that "sanctions are efficient only if you have no way to escape and we see the Russians are trying to escape — in some cases, they find a way."

His warning comes amid recent reports that Moscow's hydrocarbons may be reaching EU countries via Azerbaijan and Turkey. Allegations are also growing that Russian oil has been discreetly sold at prices far exceeding the $60 cap imposed by the G7 in December.

The EU's plan to make the bloc independent from Moscow's fossil fuels before 2030, called RePowerEU, includes encouraging member countries to jointly purchase natural gas, and the Ukrainian minister said his country also wanted in on that program.

While the EU has slashed its oil and gas imports from Russia, the bloc still has 18 Russian-designed VVER reactors — located in Finland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Czech Republic — for which no alternative fuel supply exists so far.

Rather than continuing to rely on Russia, they could soon buy their supplies off Kyiv, he said. Ukraine is in the process of making specially-tailored replacement nuclear fuel along with Westinghouse of the U.S. that could be ready by "the beginning of next year."

A destroyed bridge over the Murom river near Russkiye Tishki


He also called on the European Commission to set an EU-wide target for eliminating countries' reliance on Russian nuclear technology, while reiterating Ukraine's call to bring sanctions against Moscow's state-run atomic giant Rosatom for its role in overseeing the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. So far, the EU has refrained from hitting Russia's nuclear industry with sanctions.

"They are participating in the capture and illegal operation of [this] nuclear station," Galushchenko said.

Comments

Oh ya 2 year ago
If Ukraine had followed the Minsk agreement that they signed non of this would have happened. Let the NAZIS Ukrainians stew in there own mess. The little jew nazi running the country signed a law he would not negotiate with Putin so that shows he is not interested in peace.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
×