Good afternoon everyone, I’m Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Executive Director of the Ukrainian climate and peace campaign group Razom We Stand, a passionate activist group I founded just after Russia’s brutal war on my country began. As a Ukrainian, I speak not just as an activist, but as a human being suffering from Russia’s fossil fuel-funded war.

Germany has been a critical ally of Ukraine in many respects, but the reality we confront here is stark. While Germany has declared that it no longer imports Russian LNG directly, the truth is sadly much darker. Russian gas giant Novatek, alongside Belgian firm Fluxys, whose pipelines help Russian LNG reach Germany, is here in Berlin attending the World LNG Summit. These companies profit and give themselves awards, while Russia reaps billions from its fossil fuel exports—revenues that directly fund its war machine.

Germany’s continued reliance on Russian LNG undermines its declarations of support for Ukraine. Even as European leaders pledge solidarity, gas flows into this country through transit terminals from neighbours like France, Belgium, and Spain. Let’s be clear—this isn’t just a logistical issue; it’s a moral failure and political hypocrisy.

Since the full-scale invasion began, Russia has earned over €207 billion from fossil fuel sales to Europe. In Germany alone, up to 6% of the gas consumed in 2023 may have originated from Russian LNG. These revenues do not just keep Russia’s economy afloat—they actively fuel the war, paying for the bombs, bullets, and rockets that terrorize Ukrainian people every day.German companies like SEFE continue to import Arctic Russian LNG under long-term contracts, with gas landing in French ports, regasified, and transported into Germany. Since October 2022, these operations have quietly funnelled Russian LNG into this country, betraying the values Germany claims to uphold.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Germany has proven it can lead in cheaper renewable energy. In 2023, 65% of its electricity came from renewables. European gas storage is at record levels, over 95% full. This country has the tools to eliminate Russian LNG, not just as a gesture of solidarity but as a step toward true energy independence, real security, and a vital climate-saving change that we and our planet desperately need.

Let us be clear: every euro spent on Russian LNG fuels more destruction, suffering, and war. The solutions are here—renewable energy and energy efficiency. Now, we only need the political will tospeed up the changes already in progress.

Berlin has shown the world that even the worst situations in history can be overcome. Let now Berlin be remembered not as a world stage for dirty fossil fuel profiteers but as a City that stood up for justice, peace, and climate leadership. The time to end all LNG gas, especially that from Russia, is now! Please say it loud together with me:

Ban Russian Gas! (repeat chant louder, together with crowd) Ban Russian Gas! Ban Russian Gas! – That’s right, together we are strong, and we will end fossil fuel greed, and the war on Ukraine. Thank you very much.