Pressure mounts on German ministers to embargo Russian energy

theguardian.com:

The German government is facing growing pressure at home and abroad to introduce an energy embargo against Russia as reports of atrocities committed on Ukrainian civilians in Bucha increased the urgency of calls for action.

Berlin has so far pushed back on calls for an outright ban on energy imports from Russia, warning that the consequences for Europe’s largest economy and the entire European Union would be devastating. However, discussions are widespread about reducing industry production times to save energy, while ordinary Germans are being urged to turn down thermostats and drive more slowly.

A spokesperson for the German government said it would not be considering an immediate embargo but that it was determined to speed up its efforts to wean Germany off Russian gas and oil.

“An immediate embargo with a halt to gas deliveries would damage the German economy considerably more than it would Putin’s economy,” said Oliver Krischer, from the ministry for the economy and climate protection, on Monday morning.

“After these pictures of the weekend, we will once again see how we can more quickly, and by using further measures, reduce our dependence,” he said. Efforts were being made to introduce a “quasi-embargo” he said, through “non-purchase” and “energy-saving measures” as well as “diversification”, including buying liquefied petroleum gas.

Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said the atrocities – in which hundreds of civilians are believed to have been murdered north of Kiev – would not go unanswered, calling them war crimes, and promised on Sunday night that Germany, together with its partners, would be increasing sanctions against Russia in the coming days.

The defence minister, Christine Lambrecht, later went further,