Australian oil refiner severs ties with Russian imports and declares support for Ukraine

On Tuesday Viva said they would cease buying Russian crude oil and voiced their support for Ukraine, two weeks after Putin invaded the country. The current sanctions imposed on Moscow are the biggest put on an European state since the Second World War, according to Reuters.

Viva said it is “appalled” by the ongoing violence in Ukraine, while Australia’s other refiner Ampol has also condemned Russia’s actions and said it had not sourced any crude oil from them “since the conflict started”.

The Australian transport energy market is not “overly reliant” on Russian crude and has been able to source the oil from other countries.

Ampol said: “Product supply chains in Australia also typically operate without any Russian oil products.”

However they are likely to be impacted by the current sanctions against Russia as global oil prices continue to climb.

On Monday, global oil prices reached their highest level since 2008, amid reports Europe and the US were considering banning Russian oil imports.

The Kremlin has reportedly threatened to cut off gas supplies to Europe, said the Guardian on Tuesday.

This comes as European leaders are set to meet on Thursday to discuss how to wean themselves off Russian oil and gas supplies.

READ MORE: Putin issues Ukraine war demands as Russia’s invasion continues

This would significantly impact European gas supplies.

Mr Novak said: “We have every right to take a matching decision and impose an embargo on gas pumping through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.”

The fighting continues in Ukraine, however the Ukrainian military has said the Russian advance seems to have slowed “significantly”.

source: express.co.uk