Chinese refiners are being offered Russian ESPO crude at discounted prices as rising concerns over U.S. sanctions create logistical and administrative challenges, deterring buyers, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 11.
The European Commission criticized the decision as "unlawful and economically counterproductive," arguing that the deeply integrated supply chains between the EU and the U.S. would suffer under such restrictions.
The tanker, built in 2023 and sailing under the Antigua and Barbuda flag, had arrived at Ust-Luga on Feb. 6, according to ship-tracking data from Vesselfinder. Russia’s Baza Telegram channel reported that the vessel was carrying 130,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil.
Speaking at a televised meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Feb. 7, Putin noted that consumer prices in Russia rose by 9.5% in 2024 and have climbed further to 9.9% year-on-year this month.
The number of sanctioned vessels has now reached 265, with U.S. blacklisting proving to be the most disruptive. Of the 435 ships that transported Russian crude in 2024, 112—or 26%—are now under Washington’s sanctions.
The U.S. Justice Department is shutting down a program that sanctioned Kremlin-linked oligarchs, launched in 2022, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Feb. 5.
A U.S. Justice Department investigation found that Russia funneled billions of dollars through American banks to Turkey in 2022, using the Akkuyu nuclear power plant project as cover to evade sanctions, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Jan. 21 that he would likely impose additional sanctions against Russia if Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine.
Sanctions imposed by the outgoing U.S. administration against Antal Rogan, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's cabinet chief and overseer of the secret service, have only strengthened Rogan's position, Orban said during a state radio interview on Jan. 17.
The latest sanctions, imposed last week, targeted over 180 oil-carrying vessels of Russia's so-called shadow fleet, a group of aging tankers routinely used for sanction evasion.
In the run-up to his departure from the White House, President Joe Biden has slapped a number of major new sanctions on Russia’s financial systems and energy sector. The U.S. originally threatened Russia with “the mother of all sanctions” as Moscow prepared to invade Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian forces have occupied the Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear station in Europe, since March 2022, and have been using the site in ways that increase the risk of a nuclear disaster.
"Today's actions frustrate the Kremlin's ability to circumvent our sanctions and get access to the goods they need to build weapons for their war of choice in Ukraine," said Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Wally Adeyemo.
Sixty-five oil tankers paused operations in various places around the world following the recent U.S.-U.K. sanctions against Russia’s oil industry and shadow fleet, Reuters reported on Jan. 13, citing maritime tracking data.
Russia's Foreign Ministry argued the U.S. sanctions represented "an attempt to inflict at least some damage to the Russian economy, even at the cost of the risk of destabilising world markets."
Shandong Port Group has prohibited U.S.-sanctioned tankers from accessing its ports in the eastern Chinese province, three traders familiar with the issue told Reuters. This region, home to many independent refiners, is a significant importer of oil from countries under U.S. embargoes.
Antal Rogan is the first high-ranking Hungarian official sanctioned by the U.S. under the Magnitsky Act, which targets individuals involved in serious human rights abuses and corruption.
The U.S. is planning to impose additional sanctions on Russian oil by the end of the year, particularly targeting Russia's so-called "shadow fleet," Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Ukrainian president’s commissioner for sanctions, told public broadcaster Suspilne on Dec. 23.
Although no concrete decisions have been made on the potential sanctions, sources familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg that a number of avenues are being explored, including sanctions on Russia's so-called 'shadow fleet.'
According to Putin's new law, gas purchases are no longer tied to Gazprombank and can be settled by offsetting mutual debts. The U.S. sanctioned Gazprombank on Nov. 21.
Russia’s ruble took a blow following the news of the U.S. imposing sanctions on 50 Russian banks, including Gazprombank, hitting 108 against the U.S. dollar during early morning trade on Nov. 27.
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on dozens of Russian banks, including Gazprombank, securities registrars, and financial officials, according to a Nov. 21 statement.
The source told the Kyiv Independent the drones targeted the large state-owned Sverdlov Plant in the city of Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod region, some 900 kilometers deep into Russia.
Iran has delivered two domestically manufactured satellites to Russia for an upcoming launch, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Oct. 12. This marks the latest instance of space collaboration between the two nations, both of which are under U.S. sanctions.
The Shevchenkivskyi District Court in Kyiv on Sept. 23 ruled in favor of Andriy Portnov, a former top official in ex-President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration, in a defamation case against several news outlets, including the Kyiv Independent. Portnov challenged a reference to him as a “pro-Russian” politician and a person
Dimitri Simes, once an adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump, works as a presenter for Channel One Russia, a state-run television station sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in May 2022.
Chinese banks are shutting down transactions with Russia over worries about losing access to the U.S. dollar and being cut off from the international financial markets, experts told the Kyiv Independent. The U.S. issued an executive order in December 2023 warning that it would sanction any foreign financial
Key developments on Aug. 23: * Ukraine withdraws from positions near Pokrovsk to avoid Russian encirclement, ISW says * Ukraine confirms sinking of Russian ferry in Kerch Strait * U.S. targets around 400 individuals, entities in Russia, third countries in new sanctions package * Norway to finance production of NATO-standard artillery shells in
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on around a dozen distinct networks, designating more than 100 targets across 16 jurisdictions, including China, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. They help Russia to evade sanctions, the Treasury said.
Russia’s central bank canceled the banking license of American Express Co.'s Russian subsidiary on Aug. 13, following the unit's voluntary liquidation request.
It was the night before Alyona Mysko’s birthday when she got the word from her financial manager. The founder of software company Fuel that provides financial planning for startups, Mysko was, she says, still working at home in Kyiv well into the night of July 22 when she learned
Brian Nelson, the U.S. Treasury Department's lead official tasked with imposing and enforcing sanctions against Russia, is preparing to leave the Biden administration to join Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign, Axios reported on July 30.
