Fluxys gas company has joined the list of international sponsors of the war
Kyiv • UNN
The National Agency for the Prevention of corruption has added Belgian gas operator Fluxys to the list of war sponsors for facilitating the export of Russian liquefied natural gas. Fluxys makes a profit from transshipment at its terminal in Zeebrugge, which is a contribution to the Russian military budget, including to finance military assets used against Ukraine.
National the agency of Ukraine for the Prevention of corruption (NAPC) has introduced a Belgian independent Gas System Operator Fluxys to the list of international sponsors wars to promote the export of Russian liquefied natural gas. About this according to the press service of the NACP, writes UNN.
The Belgian independent gas system operator Fluxys provides storage and transshipment facilities for Russian Liquefied Natural Gas Yamal LNG at its terminal in Zeebrugg. The majority stake in Yamal LNG belongs to the Russian gas company Novatek, which is directly involved in financing military aggression and war crimes in Ukraine,
Details
Are Noted, what is a detailed analysis conducted by the International Institute Energy Economics and financial analysis (IEEFA) in 2022, showed that Fluxys and its shareholders made a profit by promoting the export of Russian LNG to markets in Asia, South America and the Middle East, especially during the winter months 2021-2022, which worsened the European energy crisis and increased profit for Novatek.
The company is owned by Russian oligarchs Leonid Mikhelson and Gennady Timchenko and is the main supplier of Russian liquefied natural gas to international markets. These two oligarchs include to the inner circle of Russian President Putin and with the help of his regime seized shares of international companies in Russian oil and gas projects.
Novatek is also the largest a private producer of natural gas in the Russian Federation. In July 2014, the company was added to sanctions lists of the United States and Canada. In 2016, the United States imposed sanctions against several subsidiaries of Novatek. November 2, 2023 USA sanctions were imposed against the Arctic LNG 2 project, which aimed to double Novatek's export capacity.
According to the chairman of the NACP Alexander Novikova, at least a third of the Russian budget's expenditures go to war, and services Fluxys is helping Russia replenish it by 800 million euros this year.
For example, these are eight Su-35 fighters or 800 Caliber missiles that will attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure in winter and kill Ukrainians. These are well-known facts. Fluxys is well aware of this, but continues to sponsor the Russian war,
Fdditions
The main shareholders of Fluxys are Belgian municipalities (77.41%) and the Belgian federal government (3.44%). Both the parties claim that they highly respect international humanitarian law, which prohibits deliberate attacks on civilians or critical civilian infrastructure. These obligations contradict the actual continuation of cooperation with the Russian company Novatek.
Although many companies stopped any interaction with the Russian Federation after February 24, 2022 Fluxys continued its collaboration with Yamal LNG and Novatek throughout 2022 year and in 2023. According to international experts, Russia expects to receive up to 800 million euros of export tax revenues which is possible thanks to LNG transshipment in Zeebrugge in 2023. Only 7% of this gas goes to the EU markets. Fluxys receives 50 million euros a year for this service on a long-term basis the contract, signed in 2015, a year after Russia annexed Crimea and the beginning of the war in eastern Ukraine.
READ ALSO: three Greek shipping companies stopped transporting Russian oil to avoid US sanctions
