The UK Government has issued a licence allowing diesel and jet fuel made from Russian crude oil to be imported into the United Kingdom, provided that crude has first been processed in a third country.

This is wrong.

Russia’s oil revenues help fund Vladimir Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine. Allowing Russian-origin fuel back into the UK supply chain, even indirectly, weakens the very sanctions regime that Britain has spent years building. It sends a dangerous message: that when prices rise and pressure builds, our principles are negotiable.

They must not be.

The United Kingdom stood with Ukraine when Russia launched its full-scale invasion. We sanctioned Russian oil because energy revenue is one of the Kremlin’s most important sources of funding. We told the world that Britain would not help bankroll aggression, war crimes or the destruction of a sovereign democratic nation.

This decision undermines that position.

It also rewards sanctions workarounds. If Russian crude can be refined elsewhere and then sold into Britain as diesel or jet fuel, the moral and economic purpose of the sanctions is weakened. The route may be indirect, but the source of the money is not. Russian oil revenue still benefits the Russian state and the Russian state is still waging war.

The UK Government’s own reporting has stated that Britain is well placed to obtain diesel and jet fuel from a diverse range of suppliers, including the United States, the Netherlands and Belgium. This is not about Britain being helpless. It is about whether we are willing to hold the line when doing so becomes inconvenient.

We call on the UK Government to:

1. Immediately suspend and revoke the General Trade Licence allowing imports of diesel and jet fuel made from Russian crude oil.
2. Close any loopholes that allow Russian-origin oil to enter the UK market via third countries.
3. Recommit publicly to reducing Russian energy revenues for as long as Russia continues its war against Ukraine.
4. Accelerate investment in secure, non-Russian energy supply and long-term energy independence.

This is not just an energy policy decision. It is a test of national character.

Britain should not bend the knee to bullies. We should not help fund the Kremlin’s war machine through the back door. We should not trade away our moral position for short-term convenience.

The UK’s moral backbone should not be for sale by the barrel.

Please sign this petition and call on the UK Government to reverse this decision, close the loophole and stand firmly with Ukraine.