Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has thrust a spotlight on the Western fossil fuels companies that continue to do business in Russia, providing the Russian military with finance and fuel despite the sanctions and embargoes imposed by Western governments.
Beginning in mid-2022, investigative journalists, academics and data scientists connected through the Anti-Corruption Data Collective have examined flows of oil and gas products within Russia, from production sites co-owned by European companies, via refineries to fighter-bombers used in attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine.
Their high-impact investigations in Le Monde, Der Speigel and German public broadcaster ZDF have led to French oil major TotalEnergies and German energy giant Wintershall Dea announcing exits from Russian joint ventures, as well as legal complaints and condemnation of the companies from Ukrainian government officials and civil society.
This panel will introduce a introduce a new data mapping tool that allows journalists to build on this work and “follow the oil” from Siberian gas fields to the front lines of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.
Organised in association with Anti-Corruption Data Collective.