Kateryna Argyrou, Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) Chair, and Andriy Mencinsky, President of the Ukrainian Council of NSW – ОУГ НПВ, have been invited to speak at the Senate committee hearing today (Tues Feb 18) on the effectiveness of sanctions on the russian federation.
Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfzDYzzTJnQ (10:00am – 5:00pm AEDT, Kateryna and Andriy at 1:30pm AEDT)
Their message will be clear: Australia must close the loophole allowing refined russian crude oil to enter our fuel supply via third-country refineries.
While Australia has committed $1.7 billion to support Ukraine, it has inadvertently sent more than $2.4 billion in tax revenue to the Kremlin.
This loophole undermines our sanctions and indirectly funds russia’s war machine.
AFUO’s core recommendation: close the refining loophole, in line with like-minded partners like the UK and EU.
The AFUO submission to the inquiry also calls for stronger enforcement, supply-chain transparency, protection of Defence fuel procurement, using frozen russian assets to assist in Ukraine’s recovery, and for clear investment guidelines to prohibit exposure to companies enabling the global russian oil trade.
Australia cannot support Ukraine while funding russia’s war machine. The loophole must be closed.
#CloseTheLoophole #BloodOil #StopFuellingrussiasWar #SanctionsMatter #StandWithUkraine #AFUO #AFUO_In_Action
