Home Fossil Energy LNG and dark fleet emerge as salient points of EU’s new raft of sanctions against Russia
While the Russia-Ukraine crisis continues to get out of hand with no hints of a potential peace agreement in sight, the European Union (EU) has decided to hit Russia with more sanctions aimed at eating away at the country’s ability to finance its military operations in Ukraine. The EU’s 14th package of sanctions is expected to pave the way toward strengthening enforcement and anti-circumvention measures while targeting Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) along with the shadow fleet, also known as the dark fleet, due to the rise in vessels trying to evade international restrictions.
Illustration; Source: Novatek
After insisting on referring to its activities in Ukraine as a ‘special military operation’ for two long years, the Kremlin finally acknowledged that Russia was in a state of war a couple of months ago. Once the Ukraine crisis struck, the EU quickly took steps to wean itself off Russian oil and gas and diversify its supplies.
In a show of support for Ukraine and its people, the European Union designed and adopted various bundles of sanctions, including the 14th one which has now been announced, in the hopes of bringing the Russian Federation to heel and ending the conflict. The actions taken to move away from Russia’s energy supplies led to the rewriting of the global oil map.
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Posted: 11 months ago
The EU believes that its sanctions degrade Russia’s military and technological capability, cut the country from the most developed global markets, deprive the Kremlin of the revenues it is financing the war with, and impose ever higher costs on its economy. These sanctions are seen as a tool in Europe’s toolbox designed to force Russia to sit down with Ukraine and iron out the details for a just and lasting peace, instead of simply agreeing to yet another frozen conflict.
While many have doubted the effectiveness of the imposed sanctions, proponents argue that their effects grow over time, eroding Russia’s industrial and tech base, as illustrated by Gazprom’s fall from grace, with the state-owned gas giant recording its first annual loss in over two decades. This loss was calculated at a staggering 629 billion roubles (around $7 billion) for 2023, as Europe turned its back on Russian oil and gas and sought to fulfill its energy needs elsewhere.
Despite its zest to end what it often calls Vladimir Putin’s war machine, the EU is also determined to continue to ensure that its sanctions do not impact energy and agrifood exports from Russia to third countries. As guardian of the EU treaties, the European Commission monitors the enforcement of EU sanctions by EU Member States.
🇪🇺 EU Ambassadors just agreed on a powerful and substantial 14th package of sanctions in reaction to the Russian aggression against Ukraine.