At least $2 Billion Sent to russia: How Australia’s Fuel Trade is Funding russia’s War – and the Growing Movement to Stop It.
The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) condemns a shocking milestone – over $2 billion in tax revenue* has flowed directly to russia through the oil trade between russia, India, and Australia.
This isn’t just trade – it’s funding russian missiles, drones, and artillery which are destroying Ukrainian cities and killing innocent civilians.
Yet Australian sanctions allow russian crude oil, once mixed and processed in another country, to enter Australia labelled as ‘non-russian’.
We wouldn’t accept goods linked to slave labour – why tolerate fuel partly made with russian crude oil?
The AFUO’s campaign has driven awareness and action, with:
Community-led protests in Sydney, Perth and Canberra Strong media engagement, including multiple interviews and quotes from AFUO Chair, Kateryna Argyrou An AFUO advocacy day at Parliament House An AFUO letter sent to all 252 Federal MPs and Senators 235+ community letters sent to local MPs via the AFUO’s email platform: https://bit.ly/3FSwslX A dedicated campaign website stopfuellingrussiaswar.com
While allies act – the EU has banned russian-refined petroleum imports from 2026, and President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on Indian goods linked to russia’s oil trade – Australia continues to lag behind.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said “The mechanisms we would need to track and monitor all energy products via third countries are not in place.”
Yet independent researchers and the Australian-Ukrainian community are already tracking these shipments in real time.
Momentum is building – Senator Dave Sharma, Andrew Wilkie MP – Independent Member for Clark, Senator David Shoebridge and Senator Fatima Payman have raised questions, while senior journalists like David Crowe (SMH/The Age) say the PM Anthony Albanese needs to fix the policy gap (afuo.org.au/news)
Australia can’t stand with Ukraine while funding its destruction. The AFUO will continue to push for decisive action to close the sanctions loophole.
The AFUO thanks Sania and Bohdan Wolodymyriw, and the Rudewych family, for their generous support of the #stopfuellingrussiaswar campaign.
#StandWithUkraine#CloseTheLoophole#StopFuelingrussiasWar
*Based on analysis from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA)
