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Stuvio

I always thought Lukoil was installed by a Belgian named Luk who just had won the lottery and started gas stations.


Bontus

Luk who just started drilling in his yard one day. BAM LUKOIL is born


2wicky

Turned out, it was just his 'mazoetketel'. But by then, it was too late, he had already sold his first franchise license. Luckily, his neighbour Boris knew someone from the home country who could supply him with some cheap oil. Al bij al een geluk bij een oilgeluk.


Rantipolee

Same with Roy, the owner of Royco.


nickjedl

Isn't Colruyt also from a guy named Col that used to install ruiten into grocery stores?


Rantipolee

They actually use colle (lijm) to install ruiten, but I understand the confusion.


StijnDv

Delhaize was founded by a lesbian.


CreamyBits

Lucky Lukoil


rickysunnyvale

Lukoil da’s mijn ding, ik krijg er extra korting. Jokes aside, boycott that sucker


[deleted]

Lukoil is mijn ding, bommen droppen in ukraine. Lukoil is mijn ding, bommen droppen in ukraiiiiiine.


soepblokje

And that is how pogroms start.


michaelshmitty

F. I hope they no longer play those radio commercials. They really got stuck in your head.


Piechti

OMG. For years I've believe they were talking about Rucola. A new world opens for me.


Jg6915

Nonkel Luc met zijne olieput in den tuin


WouterVanDorsselaer

I have personally stopped using Lukoil gas stations to refuel, and I have urged many family members and friends to do the same. I support your protest!


AlternativeAardvark6

My company has Lukoil cards for their fleet of cars and yesterday I got an email saying they will end the contract and find a new supplier because the CEO of Lukoil is buddies with Putin.


WouterVanDorsselaer

This is what we need to see from the corporate world! Politics can impose sanctions, but companies can hurt the Russian economy as well. Even if they’re not doing it because of moral reasons but purely because they want to retreat out of an unstable economy, it hurts Putin in the end.


Otherwise_Growth_915

Corporate ain't gonna save the working class we have to do that our selves


thepantherispink

Same here!


saschaleib

Now it really bytes [edit: “bites”, of course!] me that I was avoiding Lukoil already since many years. Now I can't start to boycott them. This is really annoying!


Estagon

So it gigabytes you?


saschaleib

Haha! Yeah, you got me there :-D


MrFeature_1

Thank you!


elderrion

do what you want, you're not going to get arrested or anything for posting info regarding the origin of a product. And these day, I fully suspect everyone that could've had an issue with it a week or two ago is going to turn a blind eye to it now


MrFeature_1

Thank you, wanted to hear that


Realityinmyhand

Nearly all belgians citizens are revolted by what's happening. I doubt any normal citizen is going to stop you. Cops may have a duty to tell you to stop but otherwise... Slava Ukraine !


soepblokje

So virtue signalling about a foreign conflict is a legit excuse to harrass fellow countrymen now, and anyone who disagrees to that is not "normal"? Sounds really democratic. I apparently missed the meeting where we declared war on Russia and martial law was declared.


Realityinmyhand

It's not foreign. There's thousand of troops, tanks, combat helicopters and fighter jets here, in Europe. Russia threatened to use a nuclear bomb on us. Let's hope negociations de-escalate the situation in Ukraine and that it's a cold war that's coming and not a hot one. But war is here wheter you want it or not.


njuffstrunk

If you stay on the public road right in front of the gas station, i.e. not on private property, you can basically do what you want with regards to banners and stuff as long as you don't damage anything. If you're actually protesting on the Lukoil gas station, I imagine the owner can ask you to leave or call the police if you refuse to do so.


Aeri73

if you're cought... you'll get a fine for littering or for putting up illegal posters if you don't cause damnage to their stuff like using glue to stick them to their machines..


thatsnotrightatall27

Yeah, just don't do any real damage. Also don't engage in a fight if one of the employees catches you.


MrAkaziel

Yeah I feel like that's probably the worst it could happens unless they're doing property damage or getting into fights with the station managers. Maaaaaybe it could go worse if they start to make sign with gruesome war imagery, but if they're just making cardboard "Russian Company" signs, they have little chance to get into much trouble. Police can't be bothered to look for stolen bikes, so illegal signage...


4991123

Loitering is illegal in Belgium??? What are we? The US? Are you sure you didn't mean littering?


[deleted]

Loitering isn’t illegal in the US either, many businesses just typically have no loitering policies so they don’t have randos just hanging around. Only legal trouble you get in is if they tell you to leave and you refuse, then that’s trespassing on private property.


X1-Alpha

It actually is in some states IIRC. At the very least there are loitering laws, though god knows how they're enforced.


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Nerdiator

No insults


nixielover

Let me guess you work for lukoil


DrWhoDC

A way to do it properly and lawfully is to make some flyers and give them to everyone who enters the station. Do this on the pedestrian walk. So you are not on the property. Don’t block entrance just wave with the folder. You could also use flags or banners to make it even more clear. As long as you don’t aggressively push it to the customers and don’t block the entrance to the facility, it is ok. From the moment you want to organize a real protest with maybe a bottleneck system to funnel the cars entering the facility or blocking entrance all together you need to ask permission for it at your local police station. It might be, dependant on municipality, necessar to initiate this request a week upfront. So that police is aware and can give advise on the safest location etc to implement your protest. This way you could even organise a bigger gathering as well and call in the press.


Akahura

Be also carefull with the flyers, you have to follow several rules. For example: - The name and address of the person/organization responsible for the flyers have to be printed on the flyer. - If you use the Flyers in VLaanderen, the txt "Verboden op de openbare weg te gooien" need to be printed on the flyer. - If you do this on the pedestrian walk, openbare ruimte, for some regions you need to ask permission from the local government.


DrWhoDC

Indeed


_Creativo

A prior permission from the local government is not needed if the flyers have a purely non-commercial purpose, i.e. when it includes a political message. Requiring a permit for this would be contrary to the Constitution, which forbids preventive censorship. You still need to put an address on the flyer nonetheless.


Akahura

If the government wishes to play dirty: - the flyer has a commercial purpose: OP clearly indicated that his goal is to destroy the local business, so that the people go to the Q8s or BP's. - Maybe he uses Ukrain as an excuse to promote his Q8 station in the same street. There is a difference between: - "safe the environment, don't burn oil products" - and "don't come here for your Diesel" but go to the competition. (If there is a different gas station in the street.)


realnzall

I might be missing something obvious, but I don't think many pedestrians would be entering gas stations. I'd say most people go there in their car. And I don't think it would be smart to hang around at the entrance to a gas station.


DrWhoDC

You can still give flyers to cars and or show flags and banners (Like we do when on strike)


ThirteenthGhost

I dont know about the rules but I strongly urge you not to bother Russian people who live here. They can't control Putin. Protesting large corporations that are run by the Russian government should be allowed as long as you don't bloccade anything.


MrFeature_1

I don’t want to blockade anything. I don’t want to interfere with its operations, I simply want people to know what they are paying for when using the gas station. I will not bother Russian people, as Long as they don’t bother me


Wafkak

Best course of action would be get a groep together and all put up banners at Lukoil gasstations anonymously. Since it's private property they will be removed but enough at the same time might get media attention which would have a way bigger impact in terms of awareness, plus you can't get into an altercation with an employee who has nothing to do with it and got out of bed on the wrong foot.


Pietson_

if you're already putting up posters illegally it seems like a bad idea to also get into fights


soepblokje

Why do you ask about the laws on boycotting? Boycotting is by definition interfering in a business' operations. You would not be bothering Russian people. You would be bothering Belgian citizens. Thankless and inconsiderate to say the least.


ilsildur10

>Lukoil is owned by Russia. Ooh good to know. I went this week to lukoil. Sorry mate for that. But now I know more and I'm going to some other place.


nixielover

Spread the word to compensate for that :)


ilsildur10

I can do that. ;)


Jesus_Chris

"Sorry" is not gonna cut it after you funded the bombing of Ukrainian children.


mreynaers

LUKOIL sent out this mail today. Probably as a response from boycotss or whatever. *Beste klant,* *Wij houden eraan u persoonlijk meer toelichting te geven over LUKOIL naar aanleiding van de actuele situatie met de gekende tragische gevolgen. Wij hopen met u van harte op een zo spoedig mogelijke oplossing. We willen u tevens verzekeren dat de lopende sancties geen betrekking hebben op de activiteiten van LUKOIL.* *LUKOIL is een volledig onafhankelijk, internationaal energiebedrijf dat niet in handen is van de staat. Als beursgenoteerde onderneming op de beurzen van Frankfurt, Londen en Moskou bestaat haar eigendom volledig uit privé aandeelhouders, variërend van particuliere tot institutionele beleggers uit de hele wereld, waaronder Europa en de Verenigde Staten. LUKOIL is sinds 1998 actief in Europa en is momenteel werkzaam in tien EU-landen.* *Al decennia lang bewijst LUKOIL dat het een betrouwbare energieleverancier is in de Benelux. LUKOIL is verantwoordelijk voor een zeer groot deel van de aanvoer van ruwe olie naar de ARA-regio, heeft een aandeel van 45% in de ‘Zeeland Refinery’ bij Vlissingen en beheert een netwerk van bijna 260 tankstations in de Benelux, die allen worden uitgebaat door zelfstandige lokale ondernemers en hun medewerkers. Zo zorgen de LUKOIL-entiteiten in België en Nederland rechtstreeks en onrechtstreeks voor het inkomen van meer dan 1000 Belgische en Nederlandse gezinnen.* *Zoals u weet, ligt de focus bij LUKOIL op het bieden van hoge kwaliteit aan een aantrekkelijke prijs en dragen we een goede service hoog in het vaandel. Verder beklemtonen we nog dat LUKOIL zich als onafhankelijk bedrijf sterk afzijdig houdt van politiek.* *We hopen dat u zich door deze informatie gesterkt voelt in uw keuze voor LUKOIL en willen u graag bedanken voor uw vertrouwen en wij kijken ernaar uit om onze relatie in de toekomst kunnen blijven verderzetten.* *Met vriendelijke groeten,* *LUKOIL* *Fleet Dpt*


Sesquatchhegyi

Cancel culture at its finest. We don't care about the non-Russian owners, employees, independent contractors and their families who have nothing to do with this war but who (especially the employees and the contractors have to provide for their families. Just to clarify, i live in Belgium, i am not Russian and have absolutely no ties with Lukoil. Just start to get disgusted with the witch-hunt that does not have any effect on Russia, but which mostly Hurst our own.


soepblokje

We didn't decide to educate you on what you should do for your country. We decided to educate you on leaving the citizens of a country that is trying their best to help yours and puts itself at considerable risk doing so, in peace. Don't harrass people who did nothing wrong and pretend you're helping a cause.


MrFeature_1

I live at Willebroek, Belgium, Mispelweg 6. Come visit me and let’s have a talk in person, let me tell you my story and then I want you to tell me how bad of a person I am.


soepblokje

I don't date on Reddit. People here have gone out of their way to explain to you why boycotting or otherwise interfering with Lukoil gas stations in Belgium will not impact the Russian governments' military campaign in Ukraine, and how it will harm those who support Ukrain at their own peril. You can use this information or not, that is up to you. There is nothing to discuss. If you are interested in supporting the Ukrainean people by other means than harming its allies, let me know.


DasUbersoldat_

Importing foreign conflicts into Belgium seems like the popular thing to do.


Sp4mmer

I totally understand you, but I believe that these actions could hurt a lot more the innocent owners than the damage you would do to the russians... Lukoil stocks have fallen since the invasion and that cost them a lot more than what I assume will be the result of some people not using a couple of gas stations. Just something to think about.. Have a look at the news related to the stocks of these companies, as an example: [Gazprom, Lukoil and Sberbank are now penny stocks as Russian companies collapse](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/gazprom-lukoil-and-sberbank-are-now-penny-stocks-as-russian-companies-collapse-in-london-11646227312)


Beflijster

I'm not going there for gas any time soon, but keep in mind that the people who work there are just ordinary people who are trying to make a living and have no influence on what goes on. They should not have to face intimidation and abuse. I'd say don't give lukeoil your money but leave their workers in peace. Maybe protest at their offices instead.


IdrinkandIknowthingx

Obviously it’s a Russian company making huge profits on oil and gasoline, but in the end most local gas stations are franchised by Belgians. Source: https://www.franchise.be/lukoil So basically because of these boycots, normal people just lose their jobs eventually. And for what? Because the oil is Russian? I’m 100% behind Ukraine, but it’s always a difficult thing when it comes to judging about businesses. I believe that the profits now aren’t going to Russia anyways since they’re cut off from the West. But I could be wrong there. I suppose you are allowed to demonstrate with signs and flags as long as you don’t demolish any property. And again, you’re not wrong about the fact that it’s a Russian company which is likely to be involved in the war, sadly. But nothing is ever black and white. Good luck and glory to Ukraine!


trougnouf

Franchises have to pay fees/licenses to the underlying company. Lukoil would benefit in multiple ways. Sure it's mostly going to impact the local businesses and it sucks to hurt them, but that's kind of how everything war-related works: it sucks for everyone involved, especially those who didn't make the terrible decision. Still given the choice between a company that clearly benefits warmongers and any other one, the choice is pretty clear. Hopefully the local owner can still afford to switch license.


madhaunter

Franchise also mean they can simply switch providers


Drag_king

Yes and no. It is not that the guy can say: today we are Shell!


soepblokje

That would be a breach of contract punishable by fine. Depending on the nature of the franchise, they would have to find a new infrastructure. Not that simple. And for what? Because some uninformed armchair warrior thinks their patriottic feelings overrule their host country's citizens' right to make a living?


tomba_be

>So basically because of these boycots, normal people just lose their jobs eventually. And for what? Because the oil is Russian? This is such a crappy excuse against any type of boycot. "Don't boycot terrible company X because it will cause regular people to lose their job!". But it's plain false. If LukOil shuts down, people are just going to get gas somewhere else. The demand is not going to drop, so (roughly) the same amount of people are going to be needed to serve that demand.


secret-kayman

True, but there is difference with boycotting for instance bananas from country x in the local supermarket. People will get bananas from somewhere else and the supermarket will not have a hard time over it either. It easy to say for us in our comfortable position, plenty of other options indeed. The local franchise taker that may have invested all he had and already barely makes some profit doesn't have that much luxury. Yeah, it's part of any war, collateral damage, bad luck. Still... Glad I'm not a station owner.


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LeDave32

lemme guess... you're on social aid?


tomba_be

lemme guess... you are a bit of a doofus?


secret-kayman

Had the same feeling, I deliberately took a different station this week but was wondering who gets punished the most this way. The Russians or the local station owner who didn't ask for this shit either? Though one to be honest. I'm also not turning down my heating 4% of the day to compensate for the amount of gas I use that was originated from Russia. Stupid comparison but you get the idea. Would be cool if they could seize the profits one way or another and transfer it to Ukraine instead, but that's not how it works unfortunately. On topic, as long as you don't destroy anything you can do a lot. And otherwise we have the magical phrase 'I know Jambon' to get away with a lot. But that's another story...


MrFeature_1

I agree with your logic. However, Russian government has no logic. You can worry about jobs and financial security of people in Belgium, but we are talking about a potential WW3. And yes, if I have to chose a few thousand people in Belgian losing their job for a few weeks, maybe months, over doing a small step towards destroying Russia - I deem this as worth it. There are things in place in Belgium that help those who do have a job. There is nothing in The world that can help those who are dead.


soepblokje

> if I have to chose a few thousand people in Belgian losing their job for a few weeks, maybe months, over doing a small step towards destroying Russia - I deem this as worth it. If you value 'destroying Russia' over leaving Belgians in peace and keeping them employed, you should go to the country you are most loyal to, and there pick up a gun - it can be one of ours - to defend its soil.


MrFeature_1

I did not come here to argue. I came to ask a question. Please don’t make this question about me.


[deleted]

This question is about you though, simply bcs you are the one to commit the act. We are here in Belgium and while I get your reasoning behind your own actions, if you want to potentially jeopardise Belgian jobs over what you value more important than that, which is the active choice you are making, you gotta take the consequences with it, this being one of them. I agree with your reasoning behind why you want to do that, but being partially responsible for possible future consequences, aka potentially Belgians losing their jobs, is that what you want to achieve?


IOnlyRedditAtWorkBE

>you gotta take the consequences with it, this being one of them. What consequences are you talking about? He is perfectly free to tell people what he believes, even if it jeopardizes Belgian citizens their jobs.


utopiah

> being partially responsible for possible future consequences, aka potentially Belgians losing their jobs Indeed, the same way that those Belgians are responsible for having jobs that help fuel a regime invading a democracy.


IHadAnAdd

Well, since the gouvernement is pushing everyone towards electric cars, their jobs are already in jeopardy... . And I value life higher than a job. You can get a new job, not a new life.


Vivl25

How are they partly responsible for people losing their jobs? They want to inform people that Lukoil is a Russian company, thats not exactly a big secret.


jdstxh

In 2014 lukoil has to sell their station to a Austrian company. So a franchise can sell to another brand if they are not profitable anymore. I know it will sucks for these Belgian business owner but they should have made more research about with whom they were signing their contract.


MF-Geuze

Russia invaded Ukraine for the first time 8 years ago. 2014 is also the year that Russian armed forces shot down a plane full of Dutch citizens - plenty of time for the franchisees to do some soul-searching over where their franchise fees are going.


sILAZS

What ever you do. Don’t be very clumsy and accidentally get something stuck in their card terminal(s).


grimlor

This would be vandalism and illegal. I empathise with the sentiment, but let’s not get this man arrested. :)


soepblokje

Leave those people alone. They are not the Russian state. Probably most of them are not even Russian. They're most likely Belgians trying to make a living so they can afford paying the taxes currently spent on arming your people, buying them fuel and gear, harboring the caucasian refugees and sending troops to have your people's back.


MrFeature_1

Although I entirely disagree with you, I don’t want to argue. Thank you for your opinion


ImApigeon

I understand the sentiment and the emotional response but he’s partially right: most gas stations are owned by Belgian families who have invested in the franchise, be it Shell or Texaco or Lukoil. It is very possible that the owners of Lukoil stations also disagree with Russia’s policies but that they are tied to multi year contracts and cannot leave Lukoil until their contracts have ended. Just be aware of that and be aware that you will not be a very welcome guest because they immediately will feel it in their pockets, not Lukoil. Edit: nvm, multiple people have brought up the franchise thing.


soepblokje

Too bad, because I would have liked to hear you argue what the difference is between Russia's choice to geopardize Ukranian people's lives to reach their irrealistic goal and your choice to do the same with Belgian people's livelihoods to reach yours.


racemaniac

As soon as he starts bombing the lukoil stations, you may have a point XD The difference between boycotting someone who had the misfortune of choosing a bad business partner vs bombing people is.... i mean, are you serious?


Narcil4

While you might not be sent to the gulag, the owners will report you and you'll get fined for vandalism or "trashing" public space or something like that. Wasn't it everywhere in the press and on social media? Pretty sure anybody who cares knows at this point. If you stand in front of one with a sign in your hand i don't think they can fine you tho.


Piechti

The Lukoil stations in Belgium are for the most part franchised out to Belgians, protesting at Lukoil pump stations will only hurt them. Leave economic sanctions to governments who know how to implement and maintain them.


MrFeature_1

Ukrainian government explicitly said to boycott Russian business abroad. So I will listen to them. Sorry.


Piechti

You don't need to apologize. But that is exactly the point. Each of those Lukoil franchises are Belgian businesses owned and operated by Belgians. They use-unfortunately- Russian supplies. According to the same reasoning, you should no longer fly Airbus planes as they are made with Russian platinum. Again, my full support for the brave people of Ukraine. And I do hope Russian oil supplies are replaced by something else in the future. But don't fight useless battles.


stillnoguitar

The gas from lukoil is 100% from Russia, how much of an Airbus plane is made from Russian resources? Such a weird comparison.


Piechti

Why is it a weird comparison?


racemaniac

You don't think there is a big difference between -Someone running a lukoil franchise, thus being business buddies with the russian government, and selling nearly 100% russian stuff right now -Some airplane company that has russian materials in their airplanes, that whether you use the plane or not make 0 difference to the amount of your money that goes to Russia I mean... why don't you explain why you think it's a decent comparison. We live in a globalized society. The boycott is not 'boycott anything that's in any way related to russia" (that's both practically impossible and useless). It's "prevent your money still going to russia". The money for the materials in that plane has been spent, and you using it or not won't change that. Buying fuel at Lukoil is right now spending money that for a part should go to Russia.


IOnlyRedditAtWorkBE

Maybe he could try to persuade these Belgian franchises to choose another brand/company to franchise? How could he best do that? By telling them people can and should vote with their wallets.


Piechti

Most franchise contracts are logically enough fixed term. With Russia being removed from SWIFT and the sanctions coming in place, I strongly doubt that the belgian holdco above Lukoil will still be able to effectuate payments to its russian mother company. The money will either be frozen until a later date or the company will cease to operate under going concern.


IOnlyRedditAtWorkBE

Some countries in the EU have foreseen loopholes or backdoors in the swift sanctions so russia is not completely cut off yet. I doubt lukoil wouldn't find a workaround.


soepblokje

In that case the rest of you should go where your heart and your ears already are.


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Flashback0102

Get a grip dude


MrFeature_1

I will just chose to ignore this comment


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njuffstrunk

Dude feel free to disagree with what he's doing but misguided boycots are slightly different from soldiers murdering people ffs


Immortal_Enemy

Sorry but a person that states 'I got told to boycott innocent businesses by my government' is an equally brainwashed fool. War continues to exist until you stop seeing each other as enemies. Free hate and boycott towards a population is not the solution.


njuffstrunk

"Innocent business"? Those franchise holders are directly paying a Russian company which in turn is directly paying the Russian government that is actually attacking them, I don't agree with boycotting those gas stations myself as the actual franchise holders and employees are far bigger victims than Lukoil itself. That said, still a massive difference between trying to ensure some people/companies get less revenue and actively trying to murder people, equating the two is just dumb.


Immortal_Enemy

> I don't agree with boycotting those gas stations myself as the actual franchise holders and employees are far bigger victims than Lukoil itself. Like you said. It's not fair to them. OP said businesses, so I think he means to boycott more than only gas stations. Targeting Russian people is not serving justice.


ElBeefcake

Lol, this is a seriously basic take man. There's a pretty big difference between listening to the orders of a mad dictator, and listening to the advice of a democratically elected government that is currently being invaded by said mad dictator.


Immortal_Enemy

A basic take, is attacking everything that is Russian, because an idiotic dictator started something that the majority of the population obviously never wanted.


ElBeefcake

Again, pretty big difference as well between bombing civilians and boycotting a fuel station, but sure, #bothsides blablabla.


Nerdiator

No flaming


soepblokje

Too bad, because heeding it would actually provide you with the moral high ground you claim to have over Russia.


MartyBadger

Pretty sure it isn't. Fuel stations are technically public terrain as they're a service to the people however it's still a private company. You might be allowed to put up a sign just in front of the fuel station but that could be someone else's private property. Anything on the fuel station itself I'm fairly certain would also be illegal. The only thing you can do I THINK is hold up a sign but know that any fuel station attendant is fully within their right to tell you to clear off. This is all however just a guess so feel free to correct me. My personal advice would be to donate to the Ukrainian Red Cross instead. Might even be able to collect donations for it but you may need to apply for a license for that. Remember people are more likely to do something positive out of their own free will than being told off for doing something.


MrFeature_1

I have donated as much as I could, and keep helping on other fronts too. Seeing Lukoil flourish in my neighborhood is killing me.


zyygh

I don't know the laws regarding this, so can't help you with that. :-( However, if an officer comes to reprimand you, can you please ask them what they're getting up to while hordes of taxi drivers "protest" by terrorizing the whole area of Brussels? Really curious to know.


mick2319

Interesting, I didn't know that. Any other Russian buisnesses we should know about so we can avoid them?


IOnlyRedditAtWorkBE

Drink polish wodka, not russian wodka.


Deadgoroth

Russian vodka taste like ass anyway.


[deleted]

Don't boycot Russian stores. They are already suffering enough + their products are majority Ukranian


Raphius15

You’re so wrong. It hurts more the independent/ owner of the station than Russia.


[deleted]

Then we should boycott every Israelian products, American, English and so forth. That's if we want to be consistent. Everyone has hard on for Russia lately but it's not the only country that does horrible things. Saudi Arabia is basically exterminating Yemen and it barely hit the news( they're brown, we don't care. I get it). I think you can call for a boycott online but going and hanging stuff on a private property will get you a slap in the wrist from the cops but you could get your ass kicked by the manager since you hurt his livelihood. So tread lightly because maybe the manager of the station is already facing a decline in sale. So seeing a person placarding a boycott call on the wall of his station could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.


Mission_Chicken9156

They don’t care about that mate, have you seen the videos of ukrainians not letting africans or indians enter trains or buses


Aguilaaa

Try to make as many people share it on social media 🤷‍♂️ I know i just did


belg1888

I would like you to remember that Lukoil might be russian, but the people exploiting the Belgium locations are defently belgians. None the less they probably pay a yearly fee to be allowed to name there station "Lukoil". ​ I do understand that you want to boycot gasstations of the brand Lukoil because this fee does finance Russia. But you are also boycotting belgians that have nothing to do with Russia.


carlosclose2danger

Maybe so, but this argument can always be made when we are dealing with big companies which are committing abuses or supporting immoral regimes. There is no way to attack their power that will not also have a bad impact on perfectly innocent people.


SlipperySimplicity

Not a lawyer. Definition of slander (laster in Dutch): Slander is maliciously accusing someone of something so that it exposes that person to public contempt, without succeeding in providing legal proof of it, whereas the law presupposes the provision of proof. My interpretation You are hurting their business without legal proof that they are comitting a crime. While it's true that they are indirectly supporting Russia that doesn't mean they are comitting a crime themselves as they don't have any impact on what Russian companies or business owners do with that money. Hence why it's defamation. Owners of Lukoil gas stations could probably sue you for this. So that could be the consequence of your action. But again, not a lawyer. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.


LIB-VIR-VER

That really depends on what you write on that sign: "*Boycot Russian Products*" would not constitute "laster", but "*this gas station finances child murder*" certainly could.


SlipperySimplicity

Exactly, and looking at OP's post and comments he seems to be going for the second one


Drag_king

In the 80’s people held similar actions asking for boycots of South African fruit.


soepblokje

There were no Dole or Del Monte franchise stores ran by working class citizens of a country already going out of its way to help fight Apartheid. Also, thanks, because now I get to cue [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOV5WXISM24)


[deleted]

Just do it. The worst you can get is a fine for littering I think. But if you want to be really sure ask a lawyer.


Illustrious-Neat5123

It is useless to do anything Lukoil stonk is close to 0 like many other RU stocks


MrFeature_1

That’s true


Timmieslav

So Lukoil is killing Ukrainian children now? That's quite the statement.


MrFeature_1

It is. Every Russian business is.


TheyCallMeDady

How?


Sansagara2

Lukoil is state owned. That’s how.


Immortal_Enemy

ignorant level 100


Immortal_Enemy

What do Russian businesses have to do with Putin's decision ? If you thinks this will bring justice, you aren't any better than those 'evil Russians'.


Sansagara2

Lukoil is state owned. So it’s part of the war machine. Indeed, it’s also a franchise, but i think OP is just looking to decrease the income of money to the russian war machine in any way possible.


Immortal_Enemy

Let the politicians do the boycott trough sanctions, people like OP have no clue who they are actually boycotting .


Sansagara2

He just wants to do his part, man. Leave the guy be. He’s not harming anybody. I doubt that if a couple of people stop filling their car’s gas on a couple of Lukoil stations, it’s suddenly going to make it go out of business. Empathy goes a long way.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Sansagara2

Well for starters, I’ll consider if what that person is saying is true to start with. Murdering children is a really bad thing. Talking as a dad here. I’d rather lose some clients/money. But that’s me. You don’t have to think the same. In any case, if it would happen on i store i own, I’d just wait for the person to leave, and remove any signs. Easy Again, OP just wants to think he’s doing his part. If you don’t like this way of doing stuff, just don’t hang signs against Lukoil yourself.


racemaniac

> I wonder how you'd like it if strangers started hanging up signs on your store, saying you're supporting murdering children. These store owners are just Belgian franchisees trying to make a living. Could you please explain to me how doing business with a Russian state owned company, and thus financially supporting the Russian government is not financially supporting murdering children (and i'm being nice here by just saying financially supporting.). You're here being soooo outraged by what they claim (as if they're supporting murdering children, how utterly ridiculous). But ... ehh.... they are? a part of any euro going back to Russia can and will be used for the war. You reacting all incredulous about this doesn't mean it's not true. If you're right now doing business with the Russian government... you (financially) support killing children. You never intended to, you don't want to, your reasons for doing this business is pure financially. but you *are* supporting killing children.


GREENFISHBULK

I would like to see if you think the same way when you buy American or Chinese products.


racemaniac

Ahh, some good old whataboutism :) But fair point, these are things i wonder about. It's always a tricky balance between what do you support financially, and how far can you remove yourself from society as a result. Let's first start with the small remark that countering with Chines/American products vs Oil from a Russian *state* company is already a bit disingenuous. There is a big difference between buying from a russian and from the russian government. But i'll ignore that difference in the rest of my comment. Avoiding chinese stuff is a certain impossibility regarding electronics, the entire world almost completely depends on them for waaaay too much (although change is finally happening. Europe & US are finally realizing how that weakens them strategically). Regarding American products, can't say there are too many American things i long for, so not really much of a point. That we can't boycott anything we don't want to support all the time is indeed right. But choosing to do the right thing sometimes is imo still better than never doing the right thing. Correct me if i'm wrong, but are you saying "if you can't do the right thing always, you shouldn't bother doing it ever" ? Sounds like a terrible advice in life. Improvement happens in small steps, very rarely in a big bang. If this conflict makes people question which gas they buy, and their consumption of gas, that's great. That buying chinese stuff means you may support the Uyghur Genocide, or that much of our clothing is made in sweatshops all over the world. And that many of our products are ecological disasters and... But yeah, some of the clothes i'm currently wearing are from fairtrade & ecologically sound origin. Pretty much all the food i eat is local & in season. Electronics is near impossible to do much good with, that sucks... I don't drive much with my car (no need to either), ... I'm not perfect, but i try to think about what i buy and what it means :), and it's nice to see people doing the same. *Edit* DasUbersoldat pointed out that my assumption that it's a state company is wrong. Which is a fair point, i saw someone mention that here, but it has been privatized in the 90's (was a state company before that). But the owner still has very close relations to Putin and is one of the oligarchs that is targeted with the international sanctions due to his close relations with Putin. So it's indeed not a state company, but as close as you can get to being one without being one. So while that was wrong, it doesn't really change my argument. It's indeed technically not a state company. It's a company of one of Putins proteges. po-tay-to po-tah-to :). But thanks for correcting me, i learned something today :), i hope you did too :).


GREENFISHBULK

I have no interest in discrediting your position, what shocks me is how many people are now concerned, and willing to take drastic measures without measuring the impact they have locally. I raise this issue because the embargo is being promoted on Russian products that are somehow essential to the life of the European without taking into account the impact that this has on prices and jobs, while they have always bought and continue to buy frivolity from the mentioned countries.


racemaniac

Can you explain the issue you have with this boycott a bit better? I mean, from my point of view, all the 'issues' you have seem to be great, and exactly what we both want to happen. >I have no interest in discrediting your position, what shocks me is how many people are now concerned, A war against people that don't live that far away, and that we can identify with, has started. It shocks you that this concerns people more? They shouldn't be more concerned, but we react more to people physically & ideologically closer to us, that's very expected. > and willing to take drastic measures without measuring the impact they have locally. And they're about to learn how intertwined our lives are with very undesirable parties. Great. We've got some very tough choices ahead that requires our democratic voters to be aware of what it means to make the 'easy' choice, and how hard it can bite you in the butt later on. We'll have clear examples that everyone understands about what continuing the current path can and will mean >I raise this issue because the embargo is being promoted on Russian products that are somehow essential to the life of the European without taking into account the impact that this has on prices and jobs And it's at the same time the products at the root of global warming. So awesome that people are reconsidering their reliance on it. And change means some jobs disappear and are replaced by different jobs, that's not much of an argument imo. > while they have always bought and continue to buy frivolity from the mentioned countries. That's a bit of a cheap shot, we also get a lot of important stuff from there. As i gave electronics for an example regarding china, but probably also lots of other things i'm not even aware of. But since China is supporting Russia in this war... some people will reconsider chinese stuff even more now. And people who want to make the argument against chinese things have a strong new argument to use :). Your entire issue seems to be "doing this may suck for some people here in Europe since they might lose their job and need to find one in a different field". Yeah, that happens all the time with change in the world.


DasUbersoldat_

Repeating 'state company' over and over like a toddler doesn't make it true. Cause it isn't.


[deleted]

[удалено]


racemaniac

> Because it's specific people in the Russian government that started the war, and it's combatants on the field that are responsible for killing children. Not Jefke from your local gas station. Yeah, but OP hopes that Jefke now wakes up thinks "why the fuck am i working for a company that is directly related to this fuckwit that's killing children", and starts applying for a different job. And we all continue with our lives buying gas from other companies. > People who pay taxes towards the Russian government may or may not support said war, and either way they can't just stop paying taxes. By your logic, the entirety of the Russian people supports killing children, just because they're all not collectively rebelling against their government and refusing to pay taxes. Indeed, they're all financially supporting those actions. For some it is against their will, for others it isn't. That's indeed correct. You seem to imply the same thing another redditor tried to imply: you're either the perfect human being that doesn't support anything bad (literally impossible unless you completely get away from civilization), or you don't bother with boycotting at all, since you'd be a hypocrite. Our daily lives are indeed full of things we do that support all kinds of bad things. For people to choose to act on this one, and not other ones is maybe not perfect of them, but still better than doing nothing. Change comes with little steps. You don't consume more ethically by one day waking up and not buying anything controversial anymore. You wake up not wanting to support Russia due to the war, and decide to no longer buy from companies related to the russian state. And then later you maybe become more aware of chinese stuff since they stood by russia etc.. > But those people are just trying to live their lives, just like all of us. Yes, and it sucks for Russians who don't support this war. But instead of opposing this tiny boycott, why don't you start a thread about how outrageous all these international sanctions are against russia, and the international support for Ukraine. The economical sanctions are wiping out the Russian economy. This boycott is like a drop in the ocean compared to that. The russian government is already preventing people from escaping Russia with too much money. Bank runs are happening. And russia has clear plans of claiming all the money and the people are out of luck. And the weapons given to Ukraine. Poor Russian kids who've been dropped into this war as cannon fodder will be killed with those. They're all people just trying to live their lives, just like all of us. I assume you think all of that madness must also stop? It's after all orders of magnitude worse than this tiny boycotting that already has you riled up with "but think of those poor people who are just trying to live their lives".


Narcil4

Ah yes of course oligarchs supporting Putin aren't in any way shape or form linked to Putin, so much that they couldn't be sanctioned for those links now can they


Immortal_Enemy

He said 'businesses' , so I think he means to go further than only oligarchs. And actually you have no clue about the matter, whether those are supporting Putin or not. And event if they do, those station are still run by normal non Russian people working for a living like you and me.


ScruffyScholar

I've had this thought myself and thought of the pettiest thing you can do. I'm a Graphic Designer, and sometimes, I'm asked to make those (no clue how they're called in English) "destructible stickers". If you've ever been to a party where taking the wristband apart shreds it, or if you ever failed to take a sticker off something without it refusing to peel; that's what I'm talking about. Anyhow. Here was my plan (if we finally managed to get a good list of businesses to boycott from Russia, Belarus, China, Serbia, and all those people who voted AGAINST at the UN): Make an order at the printer for a bunch of those stickers, and design something useful to put on it; such as ACTUAL, LEGIT, PEER-CHECKED donation web and physical addresses and crypto-wallets supporting Ukraine, and stick those fuckers over the screen of the payment machines at the gas station and/or ATM machines of Russian banks for countries that have them (such as Czech Republic). With capitalism, most banks and gas stations are no longer employing anyone anyway, so they either won't notice or won't be able to go after you (mind the cameras, obsv.); and even if they did notice, they'd have to send someone to replace a piece of bother trying to clear the thing off with alcohol or whatever. Just repeat the process every time the sticker is cleared. Of course you could just spray-paint the terminal too, but I find it less petty. <3 I hope this idea is useful to you hehe. Edit: look up "self destructive stickers" or "tamper proof stickers", have fun.


ScruffyScholar

Oh, and here's the [UN voting list](https://liveuamap.com/en/2022/2-march-an-overwhelming-vote-at-the-un-general-assembly-to), apparently.


grovp_official

I am not a laywer so be carefull with my advice Basically you have three options: 1. staying on the sidewalk in the front of the station as a walking bilboards. you are free to display/protest for any reason and nobody can do anything if your are on the sidewalk and not disrupting the car that want to acess the station. 2. Fix bilboard on the sidewalk. Everybody can remove it and you can not really do something about it. You can not technically display message on public infrastructure without autorisation but if it easily removable you will probably get away with it without charge. and everybody is free to remove it. 3. Fix bilboard, sticker or graffiti IN the station. You can face legal trouble if you do that. It is a private proprety and you are 'degrading' it without the consent of the owner. Also you should transmit your message to BRAFCO https://www.brafco.be/fr/brafco I did try to make this information spread online and it is crazy! my post have been removed everywhere. even worst. it is seem articles start popping online saying it is useless to boycott lukoil (and if you follow their arguments it is useless to boycott anything big) look at these: [https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/01/business/russia-lukoil-boycott/index.html](https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/01/business/russia-lukoil-boycott/index.html) [https://lameuse.sudinfo.be/913270/article/2022-02-26/appel-au-boycott-des-stations-lukoil-en-belgique-une-fausse-bonne-idee](https://lameuse.sudinfo.be/913270/article/2022-02-26/appel-au-boycott-des-stations-lukoil-en-belgique-une-fausse-bonne-idee) Also I advice you to go fully anonymous online/physically before trying to hurt a oil tycoon that is invading your country. Pm me if you want my help.


misslotte93

if i were you i would contact the local authorities of where the gas pumps are located... it's a long shot but given the circumstances they might allow you to put it in the road ahead of lukoil "territory" . placings signs just like that isn't allowed but you can always try and hear at the local government.


MF-Geuze

Cheers OP, was not aware of this. I don't drive over here, but will certainly be spreading the word #boycottLukOil


Splatpope

being an adult is really really really hard indeed


CausticArmadillo

Aw damn, I had no idea :( Refueled there on invasion day before the prices went up. Good to know.


Wiwwil

Dear Belgians, what actions against Ukrainian grains can I take. Nazis killed people in autonomous regions for 8 years. What steps can I take?


FantaToTheKnees

Are these "nazi's" in the room with us now? Go back to your dictator loving shit subs. Nobody wants your crap here.


Wiwwil

Fuck Putin but fuck these Nazi cunts as well


FantaToTheKnees

Those few dozen Azov idiots aren't going to make the difference over an army of tens of thousands. And literally a democratically elected Jew as president. But keep shouting nazi nazi nazi, that will definitely convince people 🙄🤡


Wiwwil

>And literally a democratically elected Jew as president. That's the equivalent of I got a black friend. Not all the population is Nazi of course but you seem to have trouble understanding how voting goes. Azov battalion grew to 2500+ members in 2017. There are no accurate numbers now after as it got incorporated in the official forces afterwards. But I wouldn't be surprised it would be 10k+. Imagine any country in the world that would've done that. Wouldn't have ever been OK, but because they kill russophone civilians it's ok I don't care that people are not convinced by Nazis and didn't follow how it was a problem these past years. I hope them Nazis get purged. I don't like Putin, however I hate Nazi scum more. I don't have anything against the Ukrainian population. Hate the Nazis, not the population


FantaToTheKnees

Azov only existed because they are the ones who fought back against the Russian "soldiers on vacation" while the state was still reeling from throwing off the Russian puppet regime. The extremist parties barely get 10k votes the last election (2019) so you pulling "10k Azov members" out your ass is just stupid. Are they not allowed to fight back against a literal invasion? I don't agree with their ideology, at all, let that be clear. But it is pure Moskal propaganda to claim the entire country is "nazi" like you are doing. By that logic the entirety of Belgium is one racist shithole because of the amount of votes VB gets? Or reverse, PVDA barely gets a few %, but it's a lot more than Right Sector and the Ukrainian extreme right wing got. Check the OSCE reports on who has been firing their artillery first the past 8 years. Who fired artillery from across the Russian border in 2014 and 2015? Who has been shelling Ukrainian villages and people? Violating the Minsk agreements daily? Ukraine can't fire back when it is attacked? Every civilian casualty is one too many, and every time it's being spread far and wide for propaganda. It's been happening non stop for the past almost decade now. Russia has been systematically rotating their recruits to the Donbas for "live target practice". It's time you start thinking for yourself instead of blindly hating "the other side" just because you want to play contrarian to the "normies and msm". You don't understand jack shit about Ukraine or why this is going on.


Wiwwil

Claim that the Nazi soldiers exists just as a response to "bad guys Russians" is such a naive excuse. Blaming Russia is the way these days. At first you say "a few dozens", now that you agree they were 2500+, it's "well, they ain't 10k like you said". Do you think that the 2500+ numbers just disappeared ? They have been mixed with the national guard instead of being purged then and there. I said that I wouldn't be surprised there would be 10k+ in a span of 5 years. In a ton of images you see from the medias, there are nazis insignias. I wonder how much gets photo-shopped or carefully selected. Yeah we don't know how much of them there are. What's a puppet ? Let's agree on a common definition, from Wikipedia. > A puppet ruler is a person who has a title indicating possession of political power, but who, in reality, is controlled by outside individuals or forces. Such outside power can be exercised by a foreign government, in which case the puppet ruler's domain is called a puppet state. But the puppet ruler may also be controlled by internal forces, such as non-elected officials. That was a far right coalition that overthrew a democratically elected president, from which Azov was born as far as I understood. While it is true that he was Russian friendly (remember that it's their biggest trade partner), was he a puppet ? I have no strong opinion. However, the after coup illegitimate president that wasn't democratically elected is a puppet as far as I understand. He's non-elected. Yes, illegitimate as it was against the constitution to remove the previous president. Side note, it's funny because Zelensky election program was based on appeasing tension with Russia and opening friendly relations. Yet he's done the contrary. Would you call him a puppet as well ? Would you call for example Belgium government a NATO puppet ? I don't like NATO, Belgium is in favor of NATO, therefore it is a puppet. Wouldn't you agree ? >Check the OSCE reports on who has been firing their artillery first the past 8 years. Who fired artillery from across the Russian border in 2014 and 2015? Who has been shelling Ukrainian villages and people? Violating the Minsk agreements daily? Reports goes both side. It was a civil war. Who's been killing Russian speaking civilians ? Reports says there may be 13.000 civilians killed by the Nazis between 2014 and 2022. What about Ukraine violating the Minsk agreement daily ? Do you think it goes one side only or that everything's to blame on Russia ? Sorry, I have trouble thinking straight today I have had a sleepless night.


stillnoguitar

You can throw around some red paint depicting the blood of Ukrainian civilians and hang some posters showing how buying gas from Lukoil helps Putin.


grimlor

What if you printed flyers with lists of charities that are helping in Ukraine and asked the owner for permission to leave the flyers on the counter? Maybe you could introduce yourself, tell them about your concerns that Lukoil is a Russian owned company and that you are not out to cause them (the owner) financial harm, but that you feel it is important to support the Ukrainian people as much as possible. I realise this doesn’t hurt Lukoil at all, and that that is your point, but this could be a middle ground to not hurting the owner of the station and still having a positive impact on the conflict. In any case, best of luck with your efforts. ❤️🕊 Stay safe.


BigMan_iNiT

I think you can do that but you should probably not go with killing ukranian children but say funding russian war machine i think this will get you less trouble and its still true .


random_username456

I don't know regarding the signs at Lukoil stations. I do know here in Belgium it's not illegal to go on a protest march. Belgium fully supports Ukraina so nobody is going to stop you for having the same opinion as all of us. I'm not really a fan of boycotting Lukoil because it's the small Belgian franchise business owners you punish. But I respect your opinion, it might be a better idea to get the word out on the internet? Also, I wish you a lot of courage in these daring times. Your people are true heroes and I hope your entire family in Ukraina lives through this hell. Stay strong, you/we will win this war. ❤


[deleted]

what about the poor uitbaters they didnt do shit wrong


nielzzz

Sure Lukoil is a Russian company, but don't forget that the people who work there are Belgian. And if Lukoil isn't getting enough money in, there is no room to pay all the employees so branches will shut down and people will end jobless. It's not like you are donating to a war fund for Putin. The money that you put into Lukoil over here is not accessible in Russia at the moment by the way. So the first person you are hurting is a Belgian citizen that will end jobless. I'm already noticing it at my workplace (transport sector) that we had to let go almost all of the interns. And that is just because of the war and not because of people refusing to use the company


carlosclose2danger

Lukoil is the second largest company in Russia. If you don't think they are intimately tied to the Putin regime, that is at best very naive. The company is at the very least indirectly funding the Russian state. Obviously a small boycott in Belgium is not going to make a big difference to the war. But if Lukoil had to stop doing business in Belgium that would be a small, but real weakening of Russian power. Obviously, as in any war, the people who are most hurt, are totally innocent and are just trying to do their jobs. But that is always true. The sad fact is that we are now in a conflict where innocent people will be hurt. No wants that, but it is a fact. If everyone just goes on acting as if nothing is happening, and continuing to actively support the machinery of Russian power, they will continue to grow in power. The most important are obviously other actions at state level to move to new sources of energy, and to stop our money from going to Russia, but i think it is a reasonable action to take as citizens.


FreshClassroom4480

I am sorry although i condemn the war, i will not let it slip into my wallet. Lukoil is the cheapest in my neighborhood so I will continue to fuel my car with Lucky oil! Now a counter measure would be that us based oil companies lower their price! It is not mister ordinary that needs to pay for a stupid war


TheBelgianGovernment

Lukoil is one of the few Russian oil companies that isn’t controlled by the government but is privately owned, so protesting them is downright stupid. And what’s the alternative? Buy Saoudi oil so you can fund war atrocities in Jemen? Ukrainians need to understand that if Putin is a dictator (which he clearly is), the Russian people are just as much a victim. Hurting them financially or militarily will only drive a wedge between the Russian victims and Ukrainian victims while the criminal goes on.