German populist politician Sahra Wagenknecht is campaigning to restore Russian oil imports for the PCK refinery in Schwedt, an eastern German city.
Wagenknecht, leader of the newly-formed Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), has made this policy a key point in her platform. She aims to push for the resumption of Russian oil imports if her party performs well in the upcoming state elections on September 22 in Brandenburg, which includes Schwedt.
Germany stopped importing Russian oil following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As part of this shift, the German government took control of the Schwedt refinery, which is largely owned by a subsidiary of Russian state oil company Rosneft. This move has raised concerns about the refinery’s future.
According to recent government data, the refinery’s capacity utilization stood at 76.2% in the first half of 2024. By comparison, the plant operated at 98.8% capacity in 2021 before the invasion.
In an interview with the German Press Agency (dpa) on Saturday, Wagenknecht argued that purchasing Russian crude oil would be more effective than “laboriously and expensively begging for oil” elsewhere, which has failed to restore full capacity at the refinery.
Wagenknecht’s political party blends left-wing social policies with right-wing stances on issues like immigration. Her party has also opposed Germany’s support for Ukraine, adopting a more conciliatory tone toward Russia under Vladimir Putin.
If BSW enters government in Brandenburg, Wagenknecht plans to challenge the German embargo on Russian oil, actively pressuring Berlin to reverse the policy. She described the current embargo as a “stupid policy” that jeopardizes jobs at the Schwedt refinery while driving up energy costs for the entire country.
Wagenknecht stressed that the policy is harming not just Brandenburg but all of Germany, making energy unnecessarily expensive and threatening critical industries.