The UK imposed sanctions on Russia on Thursday, targeting the country’s shadow fleet vessels, which are being used to circumvent Western sanctions on Russian oil trade.
The UK has announced 50 new sanctions designations and measures to weaken Russia’s military actions in a collaborative effort with G7 allies in support of Ukraine.
According to the UK Government, new targets include ships in Putin's secret fleet, “institutions at the heart of Russia's financial system” and companies supporting Russia's military production.
The UK’s Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, said: “UK sanctions are starving Putin of the revenue he desperately needs to fund his war chest and making it harder to supply his war machine.”
He added: “We will continue to work alongside our partners to increase economic pressure and demonstrate that the UK and the G7 will stand by Ukraine in this fight.”
The Kremlin collected Rbs8.9trn ($99.83bn) in oil production tax in 2023, accounting for 31% of Russia’s total federal revenues.
“Today’s sanctions aim to disrupt and increase the costs of Russia’s efforts to bypass UK and G7 sanctions through its shadow fleet,” the UK Government said in a statement.
However, despite a 1.1% revenue decline, the Russian energy company Rosneft reported a 45.5% increase in net profit and a 25.1% rise in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.
The company reported revenues of Rbs2.5trn in Q1 2024 and achieved an EBITDA of Rbs857bn.
In May, Russia's yearly oil revenue nearly doubled, indicating that the country is adjusting to the international sanctions it faces, such as the EU's ban on importing Russian oil.
Earlier in the week, EU officials discussed the potential imposition of sanctions on the Russian maritime company Sovcomflot to restrict the country's oil-related income amidst its ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
On 12 June, the US sanctioned more than 100 individuals and entities, limiting Russia's potential energy income. The statement said these sanctions are an extension of prior measures that had already halted the progress of Russia's Arctic LNG 2 initiative and other upcoming energy projects in Russia.
