$700 million a day!

Western utility bills are funding Putin's war against Ukraine

Created: 03/04/2022, 12:08 p.m

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

In “Markus Lanz”, the Fridays for Future activist Luisa Neubauer takes a hard look at Germany’s dependence on Russian gas.

(Archive image) © Christoph Soeder/dpa

In “Markus Lanz”, the Fridays for Future activist Luisa Neubauer takes a hard look at Germany’s dependence on Russian gas.

The Ukraine war is a "fossil war".

Hamburg – There is war* in Ukraine and at “Markus Lanz” the guests discuss the consequences* and consequences of the Russian attack on the country.

The Fridays for Future activist Luisa Neubauer found particularly clear words.

Neubauer: German electricity bills pay for the Ukraine war

She criticized that, on the one hand, weapons were being sent to Ukraine*.

On the other hand, people also write Putin "a check for his gas, which he sends us, knowing full well that his army is also being equipped with it," said Neubauer.

The Ukraine war* is a “fossil war” financed with coal and gas.

The EU and US would normally pay Putin about $700 million a day for coal, oil and gas.

"Therefore, German electricity bills are partly financing Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine," concluded the climate activist, calling this "a weird situation."

She called for a complete renunciation of energy sources from Russia and a faster switch to renewable energies.

In fact, Germany currently gets 55 percent of its gas and 42 percent of its oil from Russia - even during the Ukraine war.

And the main source of income of Russia are just such exports.

Sanctions and Russia expert Janis Kluge from the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik explained in the

that Russia would earn 500 to 700 million dollars a day from oil exports. 

Habeck defends energy imports from Russia in the Ukraine war

"With great regret," said Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) on Thursday in Berlin that Germany "is dependent on Russian energy imports."

The government is striving to “become independent of it as quickly as possible”.

What has been "consciously built up" over the past ten to 15 years, namely increasing dependence on Russia, "cannot be completely changed in a few days or three months," stressed Habeck.

The energy supplies from Russia would be needed to create energy security and price stability in Germany.

It is also about ensuring social stability in Germany, the minister continued.

Nevertheless, solutions are being worked on to reduce dependency.

However, this has not yet "succeeded". 

Ex-diplomat: Putin could simply turn off the gas

According to Neubauer, both the political will and the strategy would still be missing, “how we can achieve this independence.” The climate activist asked Lanz the group: “Where is the energy crisis team, which deals with the best economists in this put the country together and say: A, B, C - that will be done now so that we can move towards independence in the next few weeks?"

Fellow guest and ex-diplomat Rüdiger von Fritsch explained: "I'm afraid that Vladimir Putin could create this situation that Ms. Neubauer wants as early as tomorrow." The Russian President could simply stop the gas supplies.

Then you have to “explain to the pensioner in Wanne-Eickel why she should sit with the cold heating for the third winter.” 

This visibly upsets Neubauer.

Von Fritsch should "leave the ghost scenarios of the freezing pensioner in the basement," she said angrily.

And also: "In concrete terms, freezing is not on the agenda for people in Germany." Von Fritsch remains skeptical - especially when it comes to the question of how to deal with the Russian President: "Putin lives with a completely distorted perception* of reality.

There's no one left to check him, you have to ask yourself whether someone is still advising him.”