The Biden administration has imposed some of its toughest sanctions yet on Russia, in a move aimed at hitting Moscow's energy revenues that are fueling its war in Ukraine.
The measures target more than 200 entities and individuals, ranging from merchants and officials to insurance companies, as well as hundreds of oil tankers.
For the first time since Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine, the UK will join the US in imposing direct sanctions on the energy companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “Seizing Russian oil companies will drain Russia’s war chests, and every ruble we take from Putin’s hands helps save Ukrainian lives.”
Some of the measures announced by the US Treasury on Friday will be turned into law, meaning the incoming Trump administration will need to engage Congress if it wants to lift them.
Washington is also moving to place strict limits on who can legally buy Russian energy, and is going after what it calls Moscow's “shadow fleet” of ships shipping oil around the world.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that these measures “increase the risks of sanctions associated with Russian oil trade, including shipping and financial facilities to support Russian oil exports.”
President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin is in a “difficult situation,” adding that “it's really important that he doesn't have any breathing room to continue to do the terrible things he continues to do.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States for what he called its “bipartisan support.”
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Oil price ceiling It was among the main measures aimed at reducing Russian energy exports.
But as Olga Khakova of the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center points out, it is The effectiveness has been “diluted”. Because it was also trying to avoid a decrease in the volume of Russian oil on the market.
This was due to concerns about the impact of reduced supply on the global economy.
But experts said that the oil market is now in a better position.
“U.S. oil production (and exports) are at record levels and rising, so the impact of withdrawing Russian oil from the market, which is the goal of today’s sanctions, will be mitigated,” said Daniel Fried, a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. .
Farid added, “The American government is aggressively pursuing the Russian oil sector, determined to deliver what may turn out to be a painful blow.”
John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, said that although the steps were “excellent,” their implementation would be crucial.
He added, “Which means that the Trump administration will determine whether these measures will actually put pressure on the Russian economy.”
