Dear Vladimir,

Russian oil has been banned from the United States since April when President Biden announced that the American people would “deal another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine”. 

But while the US takes credit for attempting to cut off Russia’s fossil fuel trade, Americans are still filling their tanks with gasoline originating in Russia, we reveal.

But how exactly is this happening?

Let me be clear Vladimir, the US did end imports of those fossil fuels many months before the EU and UK introduced bans (which are set to go into effect next year).

Turns out, that once Russian oil has been refined into other products such as gasoline, the US officially doesn’t care if it came from Russia. An apparent loophole has allowed petroleum products originating in Russia to keep flowing to the US – a cycle that has kept funding the war on Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine and the climate crisis have common roots and common solutions – a complete and total end to the use of fossil fuels everywhere. 

We have seen what misery and destruction the fossil fuel industry enables, not just in Ukraine but in many different places for many years. 

It’s been 5 months since the Russian war on Ukraine started. 

Watch Ukrainian activist Valeriia Volchevska urging world leaders to stand with Ukrainians and end our deadly addiction to fossil fuels.

Onwards,
The Global Witness Team