French court dismisses Ukraine war crimes complaint against TotalEnergies

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) has dismissed charges of complicity in war crimes in Ukraine against oil giant TotalEnergies.

In a complaint filed last October, Ukrainian NGO Razom We Stand and France-based Darwin Climax Coalitions said TotalEnergies has a stake in a company that exploits a Russian gas field for products that are eventually refined into jet fuel used by Russian planes in Ukraine, French daily Le Monde reported.

The groups contended that TotalEnergies “helped provide the Russian government with the necessary means to commit war crimes,” read the report, citing text from the complaint.

PNAT, however, said on Monday that the case had been closed after an “exhaustive legal and factual analysis.”

William Bourdon, Vincent Brengarth, and Henri Thulliez, lawyers for the two associations, plan to appeal the decision, saying that it was driven by “exclusively political considerations.”

A Le Monde report last August, which was based on an investigation by international rights group Global Witness, said jet fuel for Russian planes in Ukraine comes from Terneftegaz, a joint venture in Siberia owned 49% by TotalEnergies and 51% by Russian company Novatek.​​​​​​​

In a statement after it was published, TotalEnergies said it “categorically denies all the unfounded allegations” in the article.