French energy giant TotalEnergies has been accused of “complicity in war crimes” in a complaint lodged by two Ukrainian NGOs with France’s National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office, reported by Le Monde.
Razom We Stand and Darwin Climax Coalitions claim that TotalEnergies helped to provide the Russian government with “necessary means to commit war crimes,” after revelations in August that linked the French firm’s remaining activities in Russia with refueling operations in military bases in southwestern Russia.
TotalEnergies called the accusations “outrageous and defamatory,” adding that the company is strictly complying with EU policy and European sanctions.
According to Le Monde‘s reporting, some of the gas condensate extracted from a Siberian gas field, that until recently was partly owned by TotalEnergies, has been transformed into kerosene sent to two military bases close to the Ukrainian border.
Fighter jets at these bases have allegedly been involved in bombings in Ukraine. The Russian units they supplied indirectly with fuel committed war crimes, according to NGOs Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, by striking Ukrainian civilians, but it is hard to pinpoint the precise attack locations.
TotalEnergies announced the sale of its shares in the gas field at the end of August, but is still present in the country owning almost 20 percent of Novatek, Russia’s second-largest natural gas producer.
