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Germany says it is making progress in weaning itself off Russian fossil fuels and expects to end crude oil imports from the country by late summer.
Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck said on Sunday that Europe’s largest economy had reduced the share of Russian energy imports for its demands to 12 per cent for oil, 8 per cent for coal and 35 per cent for natural gas.
Germany has been under strong pressure from Ukraine and other nations in Europe to cut energy imports from Russia, worth billions of euros, which help to fill President Vladimir Putin’s war chest.
“All these steps that we are taking require an enormous joint effort from all actors, and they also mean costs that are felt by both the economy and consumers,” Mr Habeck said.
“But they are necessary if we no longer want to be blackmailed by Russia.”
The EU is considering an embargo on Russian oil after a decision to ban its coal, starting in August.
Germany has managed to shift to oil and coal imports from other countries in a relatively short time, meaning that “the end of dependence on Russian crude oil imports by late summer is realistic", the Economy and Climate Ministry said.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi shake hands as they meet in Kyiv. AP -
Floodwater edges towards homes in the small Ukrainian town of Demydiv. AFP -
Lila stands inside her apartment after a missile strike damaged a residential building in Dobropillia, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Reuters -
Residents board-up windows of a damaged apartment building with plywood after Russian shelling in Dobropillya, Donetsk region. AP -
A police officer distributes humanitarian aid to people in Lyman, Donetsk. AP -
Ukrainian soldiers near Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
A Ukrainian soldier receives medical treatment as he and others rest after fighting on the front line for two months near Kramatorsk. AFP -
Exhausted Ukrainian soldiers arrive at an abandoned building to rest and for medical treatment after fighting on the front line near Kramatorsk. AFP -
Ukrainians attend a solemn religious service to commemorate the fallen in the Russian occupation in Zdvyzhivka, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP -
Hanna Selivon, 77, surveys what remains of her house, which she says was destroyed by Russian shelling on the outskirts of Chernihiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
Women cry as they take part in a rally demanding international leaders organise a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of Mariupol, the besieged Ukrainian city where thousands are trapped. Reuters -
Angelina Jolie, Hollywood movie star and UNHCR goodwill ambassador, poses for photo with kids in Lviv, Ukraine. AP -
Firefighters try to put out a blaze after an explosion in Kyiv as Russia mounts attacks across Ukraine. AP -
A car parked under a tree in the partially abandoned town of Chernobyl. AP -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres leave a news conference in Kyiv. AP -
Military aid bound for Ukraine at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. President Joe Biden has asked Congress to agree to $33 billion to bolster Ukraine's fight against Russia. AP -
Members of the pro-Russia Donetsk People's Republic militia stand guard as civilians go to receive aid in Mariupol. AP -
A destroyed building in the south-eastern city of Mariupol. AP -
A Ukrainian girl with other civilians on a bus as they flee the violence in Slovyansk, in the Donetsk region. Reuters -
A block of flats reduced to rubble in Mariupol. Reuters -
Explosions in a village near the eastern city of Izium. Reuters -
A car and piled sleepers in flames after shelling near Lyman station in Lyman, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Residents and members of the Ukrainian emergency services clear debris after a recent Russian rocket attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. EPA -
The Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, where spokeswoman Maria Zakharova recently said that Ukraine had either carried out the executions of civilians in Bucha itself or positioned the bodies so as to incriminate Russian forces. AFP -
An aerial view of in a neighbourhood in Zaporizhzhia on the 65th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Clean-up crews at the site of an explosion in Kyiv, Ukraine. Russia struck the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv shortly after a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. AP -
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a joint news conference in Kyiv as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues. Reuters -
Russia struck Kyiv shortly after the meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. AP Photo -
Volodymyr Tykhonov, 76, opens the door of his garage, which is riddled with bullet holes, in Zahaltsi, Ukraine. Getty Images -
President Zelenskyy welcomes UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres before their meeting. Reuters -
Iulia Shevchuk rests in a reception centre for displaced people in Dnipro, Ukraine. AP Photo -
American 155 mm howitzers due to be being loaded on to a US Air Force plane to Ukraine. AFP -
Smoke rises after an explosion at sunset in Kyiv. Getty Images -
Ukrainian rescuers pull out a part of a rocket that remained after shelling in the eastern city of Kharkiv. EPA -
Lyubov, 85, stands in front of a 19th century wooden church, damaged by rocket attack, in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine. Reuters -
Ukrainian servicemen on patrol in Luhanske village. EPA
Weaning Germany off Russian natural gas is a far bigger challenge.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Germany obtained more than half of its natural gas from Russia.
That share is now down to 35 per cent, partly due to increased procurement from Norway and the Netherlands, the ministry said.
To further reduce Russian imports, Germany plans to quicken the construction of terminals for liquified natural gas, or LNG.
The ministry said Germany aimed to put several floating LNG terminals into operation as early as this year or next.
That is an ambitious timeline that the ministry acknowledged “requires an enormous commitment from everyone involved".
Germany watched with worry last week as Moscow immediately halted gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria after they rejected Russian demands to pay for gas in roubles.
European officials called those moves by Russia “energy blackmail".
Germany’s central bank has said a total cut-off of Russian gas could mean 5 percentage points of lost economic output and higher inflation.
