European countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas, and the London lawyers and bankers who serve Vladimir Putin’s oligarchs, are complicit in war crimes, the Ukrainian president’s top economic adviser has claimed.
In an exclusive interview with the Observer, Oleg Ustenko lashed out at the “unacceptable” failure of major western economies to impose an immediate embargo on imports from Russia.
He also issued a warning to companies that have helped Russia keep selling its oil and gas, the proceeds of which he estimated at $1.4bn a day, saying Kyiv would one day sue commodity traders and insurers involved in dealing with the Putin regime and its industries.
He said Kyiv was monitoring which firms were trading with Russia and vowed that they would face legal action in the future. “If Russians are committing war crimes, even genocide, whoever is supplying Russia with this bloody money is making the same war crime,” said Ustenko.
“We know the name of the ship, the flag, the name of the captain, the volume of oil, we know how much money was paid for that oil, the port of destination, the company who sold the insurance. We are going to work with this information. We have other things to do which are much more urgent now, but we are watching everybody who is doing that.
“Our belief is that if companies are making war crimes, we are going to prosecute and sue all these people. Maybe in a year, maybe in 10 years, but we are going to find these people.”
Ustenko called for much tougher international sanctions on Russia, including the sale of frozen assets such as “football clubs and nice apartments”, with the proceeds going towards Ukraine’s defence and its postwar reconstruction plan.
“People in Europe … believe that they can help us, that they’re our great friends, and indeed they are,” said Ustenko. “But they do not understand that by supplying this money to Putin, they are funding his military machine. They’re using it for killing us, for doing the terrible things they did in Bucha and in other places.”
He said last week’s announcement from German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, who said Berlin would end Russian oil imports by the end of the year and phase out gas thereafter, did not go far enough. “The message … was completely unacceptable, that Germans still agree to pay for killing our people,” he said, adding that Germany would face “national shame” unless it took swifter action.
Oil imports could be stopped overnight, and the resulting impact on fuel costs was a price worth paying, he said. Ustenko acknowledged that weaning Europe off gas would be harder but said proceeds from ongoing purchases should be held in escrow, with Russian suppliers only able to access them after the war is over.
He also took aim at London-based insurers and global commodity trading houses that have helped facilitate Russian cargoes, as well as the army of lawyers and bankers – many based in the UK – who serve Kremlin-allied oligarchs. “Of course we’re receiving great support but it can never be enough. Tankers lifting Russian oil have insurance provided from London,” he said, calling on the UK government to prevent the provision of cover for such shipments.
“We don’t understand and we don’t want to see how many Ukrainians must be killed [before something is done]. It troubles me that in terms of Europe, we’re always talking about money. In Ukraine we’re talking about human life.”
A spokesperson for Lloyd’s of London, the world’s largest insurance market, including shipping, said it “supports and remains focused on the delivery of a global sanctions regime against the Russian state, which send an important message that Russia’s invasion of a peaceful country is unacceptable”.
Global commodity traders such as Trafigura, Glencore, Vitol and Gunvor have also continued to buy and sell cargoes of Russian oil.
Ustenko said he had personally written to the bosses of the world’s major traders, pleading with them not to continue doing business with Russia. Some wrote back and promised to cut ties but then broke their promises, he said. Others had not responded and instead continued to trade Russian shipments.
The four commodity traders told the Observer they were legally bound to abide by existing contracts but that they condemned the invasion of Ukraine and were not signing new deals.
Ustenko also urged lawyers and bankers working for Russian oligarchs to imagine their own families suffering the atrocities perpetrated by invading forces in Ukraine. “Are you going to accept that? If yes, then do nothing for us. If you think that it’s immoral, then act immediately. Even if your government does not understand, you have the power.”
Ustenko said Ukraine’s defence and its postwar reconstruction should be funded by seizing the frozen assets of the Russian central bank, as well as those owned by billionaire oligarchs subject to sanctions. “I’m talking about football clubs, I’m talking about nice apartments, houses, I’m talking about other properties in the UK.”
