Zelensky calls on largest independent oil trader to stop supplies from Russia

According to the President's Office, Oleg Ustenko, the president's economic advisor, sent a respective letter to the company on behalf of the head of state, Ukrinform reports.

In the letter, Ustenko asked the oil trading company to inform when it will ship the last barrel of Russian oil and how much it will be shipped by that date, the report said.

The President's Office recalled that Zelensky first asked Vitol to end business relations with Russia in March of this year.

In April, the oil trader said that Russian oil volumes "will diminish significantly in the second quarter as current term contractual obligations decline" and that it will cease trading Russian oil by the end of 2022.

"But in the letter, Oleg Ustenko emphasized that these promises had not been fulfilled. Refinitiv shipping data collected by Global Witness showed that Vitol chartered shipments of more than 11 million barrels of oil through Russian ports in June. Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine February 24, the company chartered shipments of more than 38 million barrels of oil from Russian ports worth approximately $3.21 billion (an average of more than 9 million barrels per month)," the report said.

In addition to Russian oil, Vitol exports Kazakh oil and oil products through Russian ports.

Photo: President's Office