“Europe must deprive Putin of gas and oil revenues”

Paris The head of the state-owned Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz has called on European countries to indirectly stop payments for Russian energy supplies. “If the countries in the EU cannot do without Russian gas and oil, they should at least use smart payment mechanisms such as trust accounts,” said Yuri Vitrenko in an interview that the Handelsblatt together with “Les Échos” from France, “El Mundo” from Spain and Corriere della Sera from Italy.

Russia would then only be able to access the money if it withdrew its soldiers from Ukraine. Vitrenko continued: “It is high time to put more pressure on Vladimir Putin. Some say the sanctions are already having an effect. But we can see that Putin’s behavior hasn’t changed.”