The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) has welcomed the Australian government’s newly announced restrictive measures on Russia, but says more decisive action is urgently needed to the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.
The latest sanctions target 37 individuals and seven entities, inducing board members of Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest shipping company, as well as senior executives at Gazprom Neft and Gazprombank, key players in Russia’s energy and financial sectors.
“The AFUO welcomes the Australian Government’s latest round of sanctions targeting 37 individuals and 7 entities, including the board of Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest shipping company, and executives at Gazprom Neft and Gazprombank — key players in Russia’s energy sector,” the organization said.
At the same time, AFUO stressed that Australia must go further.
“But Australia can and must do more to dismantle Russia’s war economy, which continues to enable the ruthless murder of innocent civilians every single day.”
Despite international and Australian sanctions, Russia continues to finance its full-scale invasion of Ukraine through the sale of fossil fuels. Russian crude oil is still being exported to refineries in countries that have not imposed sanctions, such as India and China, AFUO said.
Once refined, this oil enters global markets — including Australia — generating billions in revenue for the Kremlin.
“Alarmingly, in the third year of the invasion, Australia as a country was identified as the single largest buyer of Russian crude oil with imports totalling EUR 3.38 billion (AUD$6.04 billion). This is unacceptable,” the statement said.
AFUO stressed that this must stop “now.”
“How much longer can we allow our petrol dollars to fund Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine – a war that continues to egregiously violate international rules, terrorise civilians, and unleash devastation on a scale not seen in Europe since the Second World War?” the organization asked.
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