UK imposes ‘largest ever’ sanctions package on Russia, hits 100 Russian tankers
The United Kingdom has announced its largest-ever sanctions package against Russia to deal a blow to Russia’s oil transportation network and reduce Moscow’s energy revenues.
“The threat Russia poses to our national security cannot be underestimated. To ramp up the pressure on Putin, I’m announcing the largest package of sanctions yet,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on X on Friday.
The new body of sanctions against Russia blacklists up to 100 oil tankers that the West claims are part of a Russian “shadow fleet,” older vessels operating outside Western insurance systems.
The British government says the vessels have carried more than $24 billion worth of cargo since the start of 2024.
The UK has also accused the vessels of posing a threat to critical undersea infrastructure, such as telecommunications cables and oil and gas pipelines – a claim that was dismissed by Moscow as “hastily concocted fantasy stories.”
Various British governments have issued over 2,000 sanctions against Russian individuals and entities since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict three years ago.
Moreover, the EU and the US have also targeted Russian shipping, and the upcoming 17th European sanctions package is expected to blacklist another 150 ships later this month.
Russia dismissed the sanctions as a “futile” gesture that will not only fail to harm the Russian economy but also drive up energy costs and inflation across Europe.
Russia’s non-Western customers, such as China and India, have helped the country’s oil revenues remain robust.
Last month, the Russian Embassy in London urged the British government to stop “theatrical and short-lived gestures of hostility towards Russia.”
The announcement by the British government coincided with Russia’s celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day.
The UK-imposed restrictions against Moscow take place as Britain, along with the EU, is being sidelined from the peace process pertaining to Ukraine.
Being a devout supporter of Ukraine, London has provided the country with military and tactical support and billions in cash, and has long worked to depict Moscow as a threat to the UK’s national security.
The US downgraded a key London meeting on the Russia-Ukraine conflict last month after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to attend.
Furthermore, US President Donald Trump has been playing with the idea of a partial lifting of sanctions on Russia as part of a possible peace settlement.
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