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France’s TotalEnergies faces legal case for allegedly fuelling Russian bombers

14 October 2022 10:48 (UTC +04:00)

Two NGOs have filed a complaint against French energy giant TotalEnergies for "complicity in war crimes" for allegedly helping fuel Russian planes that have bombed Ukraine, APA reports citing French media.

The France-based Darwin Climax Coalition and Ukrainian group Razom We Stand handed the file to the national anti-terrorist prosecutor, who investigates war crime allegations, on Thursday.

The two NGOs accuse the French energy giant of exploiting a gas field used to manufacture kerosene used by Russian planes in their bombings in Ukraine, particularly in the March 16, 2022, strike on a Mariupol theatre sheltering civilians, which killed around 600, according to French daily Le Monde.

TotalEnergies rejected the accusations, calling them "outrageous and defamatory" in a statement to Le Monde.

Representatives of Razom We Stand, and Darwin Climax Coalitions confirmed to Le Monde and AFP that they had filed a complaint against TotalEnergies, alleging that the company "contributed to providing the Russian government with the means necessary for the commission of war crimes."