Blood on their hands?

 

An analysis tracked back to 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, reveals top energy companies helped build Putin's war chest to nearly $100 billion. 

Greenpeace USA, Global Witness, and Oil Change International looked at eight companies: BP, Equinor, ExxonMobil, OMV, Shell, TotalEnergies, Trafigura, and Wintershall Dea.

"While the Russian government has benefited from majority state-owned or state-controlled oil companies such as Gazprom and Rosneft," the document states, "European and U.S.-based corporations have also spearheaded large oil and gas projects that filled Putin's coffers."

"BP's and TotalEnergies' share of the royalties and taxes paid by the Russian companies, proportional to their equity stakes," specifically calls out BP, which the researchers say was responsible for over 80% of the $95.4 billion because of its Rosneft stock. "Although BP has announced it will divest its stake in Rosneft," the report adds, "the past impact of this equity stake cannot be negated—both in terms of the benefit to Rosneft from the capital provided, and the cash flowing as a result to the Russian state."

"BP and other big energy companies are now trumpeting their withdrawals from Russia but do they expect us to forget the almost $100 billion they're responsible for putting into Putin's pockets in recent years?" asked Murray Worthy, at Global Witness. Worthy explained that "whilst BP might deny accountability for the consequences of its stake in Rosneft and the payments made to Putin's war chest, it has always been more than happy to benefit from the billions that have flowed from its involvement in the company."

He  added, "The Russian energy industry is Putin's biggest earner and companies like BP that turned a blind eye to the Crimean invasion, continuing to support money pouring into his war chest, should surely be questioning whether they now have Ukrainian blood on their hands." 

"Fossil fuels are the currency of despots, dictators, and warmongers," declared Lorne Stockman, research co-director at Oil Change International. "Our global reliance on oil and gas is not only killing our planet but also making the world a less safe and equal place."

"Big Western polluters like BP and Shell have been all too happy to work in countries with despicable human rights records for over a century," Stockman said. "They must avoid looking to other autocratic regimes to replace the resources they have foregone in Russia. Now is the moment to end the fossil fuel era."

'Ukrainian Blood on Their Hands': Analysis Details How Big Oil Funded Putin's War Chest (commondreams.org)