Following criticism from Ukraine’s foreign minister, Shell Oil, Europe’s largest oil corporation, has announced that it will give the profits from a recent purchase of Russian crude oil to a fund created to assist Ukrainian refugees.
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“We will commit profits from the limited amount of Russian oil we have to purchase to a dedicated fund,” the company said in a statement. “We will work with aid partners and humanitarian agencies over the coming days and weeks to determine where the monies from this fund are best placed to alleviate the terrible consequences that this war is having on the people of Ukraine.”
Shell Oil said it had to buy the oil at a steep price in order to meet and satisfy purchase agreements prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a Saturday tweet, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said the oil smelled like “Ukrainian blood.”
“I am told that Shell discretely bought some Russian oil yesterday. One question to @Shell: doesn’t Russian oil smell Ukrainian blood for you? I call on all conscious people around the globe to demand multinational companies to cut all business ties with Russia, the tweet read.
“I call on all conscious people around the globe to demand multinational companies to cut all business ties with Russia,” he said.
Following BP and Shell’s declarations, ExxonMobil stated on Tuesday that it will abandon Russia’s oil and gas businesses and suspend fresh investment, according to Reuters, thus terminating its decades-long connection with Russia.
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According to NPR, both Gazprom and Rosneft’s London-listed stocks suffered significant losses on Monday, losing 42 percent and 53 percent, respectively.
The weight of global sanctions is proving disastrous for Russia, whose economy is on the verge of collapsing. However, the extraordinary sanctions are having a worldwide impact, and the consequences of leaving the country will extend far beyond Russia’s borders.
According to The New York Times, American gasoline prices have climbed approximately a penny a gallon every day over the last week, and the risks of rising energy prices remain significant as Putin’s invasion continues.