The Kyiv Independent Live in London: 
UK passes new Russia sanctions, but with LNG loophole for Asian allies
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Editor's note: this article was updated to include a reaction from Ukraine's sanctions chief Vladyslav Vlasiuk.
The U.K. unveiled a new package of 31 sanctions against Russia on Oct. 1, but also prolonged liquefied natural gas (LNG) licenses that facilitate Japan and South Korea's continued import of Russian fossil fuels.
"We are targeting both the revenues that help sustain Russia's aggression and perpetrators of horrendous crimes against Ukrainian civilians, including children," said British Europe minister Lord Wood of Anfield, in a press statement.
The listings include 22 individuals who carry out unlawful detentions, torture Ukrainian civilians, and run Russian detention centers on occupied Ukrainian territory, known for inhumane conditions.
The U.K. also targeted individuals helping Russia in its disinformation narratives, including several Georgian politicians who tried to legitimize Russia's propaganda narrative of a breakaway movement in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast.
The listings also include the Russian energy company Novatek Gas and Power Asia, which produces gas in the western Siberian Yamal region, and eight ships identified as belonging to Russia's shadow fleet.
Ukraine's sanctions chief Vladyslav Vlasiuk welcomed the new sanctions, especially those against two Arctic LNG tankers.
"Russia's Arctic gas is one of the Kremlin's key future revenue streams, and it must stay frozen," Vlasiuk said.
However, the U.K also granted exemptions allowing LNG from the Sakhalin-2 facility in Russia's Far East to continue exporting to Japan and South Korea unhindered.
The press statement describes the decision to facilitate Tokyo and Seoul's continued import of fossil fuels as "part of the U.K.'s work with international partners to support their transition away from Russian energy," without elaborating how.
In July, the EU granted similar exemptions to Japan and South Korea, which they said at the time was requested by the two governments.
