PRESS RELEASE : Giving up Russia’s bloody oil is a top priority – Oleg Ustenko

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 10 April 2022.

The countries’ abandonment of Russian oil will not lead to an increase in world oil prices, even if oil production does not increase significantly, which is unlikely. This was stated by Adviser to the President of Ukraine on economic issues Oleg Ustenko in an online interview for the South Korean media outlet MoneyS.

Oleg Ustenko noted that Russia’s crude oil exports have been growing steadily since the start of the war in Ukraine, reaching 4.7 million barrels last month, a record high since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Putin earns $ 1 billion a day from oil alone. European countries have even increased imports of Russian oil,” he said.

The President’s adviser pointed out that, for example, Germany now has the largest oil reserves in history and, according to the German Minister of Energy, will continue to import Russian oil.

Oleg Ustenko refuted the claim that with the introduction of the embargo on Russian oil, world oil prices will begin to rise significantly.

“The Office of the President of Ukraine conducted a simulation under the conditions that additional oil supply would not happen, which is the worst scenario. As a result, we realized that the hike in oil will become normal again, within a few weeks,” he said.

“Some European nations are concerned that inflation could happen. However, the market will undergo a rapid correction, and prices will return to acceptable levels. The reason that I believe the oil price will fall is because additional crude oil will be supplied in the market, from Latin America and the Middle East,” the Adviser to the President explained.

African countries and some countries in the Middle East have begun to prepare for increased production. It is possible that Iran and Venezuela will enter the world market with the supply of oil.

Therefore, according to Oleg Ustenko, abandoning Russia’s bloody oil is a top priority.

At the same time, he said, Russia will continue to sell its oil at a cheap price, even at half the current international oil price. And even if the West cuts imports significantly in the future, Russian oil could be bought by India and China.

However, Russia has limited opportunities to supply its oil, as its tanker fleet is quite small. Therefore, according to the President’s Adviser, the world should not help Russia in transporting energy – it should impose sanctions on Russian ports and impose an embargo on the transportation of Russian oil.

Oleg Ustenko thanked the United States for imposing an embargo on Russian oil and gas. At the same time, he hopes for additional sanctions, including a secondary boycott of Russian energy.

The President’s Adviser also thanked Seoul for supporting Ukraine, because, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently noted, the Republic of Korea sincerely feels the pain of Kyiv.

Oleg Ustenko called on the world to block the cash flow for Russian President Vladimir Putin and to stop importing bloody Russian oil and gas.