UK says it's 1st country to target all of Russia's top 10 oil producers with latest round of sanctions
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The U.K. announced a major new sanctions package targeting Russia's energy and shipping sectors on Nov. 12, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham saying now is the time to "continue to ramp up pressure on Russia to agree a full and immediate ceasefire."
The U.K. Foreign Ministry said that the latest sanctions make the U.K. the only country in the world to have sanctioned all of Russia’s top ten oil producers.
Russia's energy exports and shipping industry generate significant revenue that helps finance its full-scale war against Ukraine. Targeting not only the companies that produce and trade energy, but also the shipping networks that transport it, is part of efforts to restrict those revenues and limit Moscow's ability to fund the war.
According to the U.K. Foreign Ministry's press release, Burnham plans to call on other nations at the European Political Community summit in Dublin to apply more economic pressure on Russia to bring the war to an end.
The announcement comes following the conclusion of trilateral peace talks between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. in Abu Dhabi, which are expected to feature prominently in discussions among European leaders.
"Peace talks on Ukraine have progressed but now is not the time for complacency," Burnham said, adding that "we all now need to harness the momentum on negotiations and find a way forward for our security at home, and the security of our continent."
While the U.K. moves to tighten sanctions on Russian energy exports, continued purchases by European countries highlight the challenges of Ukraine's European allies maintaining a united front against Moscow.
A Nov. 12 report by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air revealed that Spain imported 138,000 metric tonnes of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in October despite having phased out imports from Moscow in September.
The EU has also paid about 8.7 billion euros ($9.6 billion) for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia's Arctic Yamal project in the first 10 months of this year, the sanctions-monitoring NGO Urgewald said on Nov. 12, citing Kpler data.
