Putin’s chilling ‘Victory Day’ message as G7 vows to boycott his oil

G7 LEADERS have vowed to boycott Russian oil so they can cut off financing for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The group of leading global economies, including Britain and the US, made the announcement hours before the Kremlin marks Victory Day today.

Western officials have raised fears that Moscow could step up its offensive as it commemorates the 77th anniversary of beating Nazi Germany.

In a chilling message issued yesterday, Putin hit out at ‘Nazi filth’ in Ukraine and claimed that his forces would eventually win the war despite suffering heavy losses. Praising the leaders of the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, he added: ‘Today, our soldiers – as their ancestors – are fighting side by side to liberate their native land from the Nazi filth with the confidence that, as in 1945, victory will be ours.’

In a statement, US President Joe Biden said the nations are ‘committed to phasing out or banning the import of Russian oil’. He added: ‘This will hit hard at the main artery of Putin’s economy and deny him the revenue he needs to fund his war.’ The group – which also includes France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan – have long been unable to agree on how to sanction Moscow’s oil and gas sectors.

Proceeds from the sale of both fossil fuels bring in an estimated £770million a day, allowing Russia to continue bankrolling the bloodshed in Ukraine.

However, last night German Chancellor Olaf Scholz indicated that splits still remain on how to punish Putin. In a

rare TV address, he said: ‘I swore in my oath when taking office that I would prevent Germans from suffering any harm. [We] will not undertake anything that will hurt ourselves and our partners more than Russia.’

Germany buys 25 per cent of its oil and 40 per cent of its gas from Russia, and officials have previously ruled out an immediate halt to buying from Moscow because it would shut down the country’s industrial giants.