UK sanctions 135 Russian oil tankers, 2 firms linked to shadow fleet
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The United Kingdom imposed new sanctions on July 21 targeting 135 Russian oil tankers and two shipping companies linked to Russia's shadow fleet.
According to the U.K. government, the tankers have secretly transported $24 billion worth of oil since the start of 2024. One of the two companies now under sanctions is tied to Lukoil, one of Russia's largest oil producers.
"New sanctions will further dismantle (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's shadow fleet and drain Russia's war chest of its critical oil revenues," U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.
"As Putin continues to stall and delay on serious peace talks, we will not stand idly by."
London said it would continue leveraging its sanctions regime to increase pressure on the Kremlin while standing "side by side with Ukraine."
The move follows the U.K.'s July 18 decision to join an EU initiative to lower the price cap on Russian seaborne oil exports to $47.6 per barrel, down from the original $60 cap. That ceiling was designed to reduce Moscow's profit margin without triggering global supply disruptions.
Russia has continued to export oil by using a so-called shadow fleet of tankers that operate under opaque ownership, flags of convenience, and often without proper insurance, allowing them to sidestep Western enforcement mechanisms.
The British government said Western sanctions have already slashed Russia's oil and gas revenues by one-third since 2022, with further measures aimed at constraining Moscow's ability to fund its full-scale war against Ukraine.
