US and UK Slap Comprehensive Sanctions on Russian Oil Industry: Checkmate or an Oil Game?
The United States and the United Kingdom took a bold step on Friday that could be described as “checkmating Moscow’s war chest.” New sanctions targeted two of Russia’s oil giants, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, in an attempt to slash revenues financing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It would now appear that the US Treasury has engaged in a chess game in which Moscow is steadily losing its pieces.
But here is the kicker: These sanctions ensnared a total of 183 vessels for allegedly forming part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”-a secretive network of tankers apparently developed to skirt the earlier sanctions. It is slowly starting to seem less like some form of international shipping and more like some “hide and seek” game on the high seas. Maybe those captains need to start considering finding new lines of work, offering ferry tours perhaps.
Not to be outdone, the UK joined the party with its own sanctions against Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, accusing their profits of feeding Vladimir Putin’s war machine. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy declared, “Every ruble we take from Putin’s hands saves Ukrainian lives.” Apparently, even rubles are feeling the pressure in this economic war.
The numbers are staggering-just these two companies combined produce over 1 million barrels of oil every day, worth $23 billion annually. But with these sanctions in place, a good chunk of that production might now be stuck in limbo-much like a traffic jam at an oil refinery.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the sanctions, saying they “are a significant blow to Russia’s war machine.” Perhaps it is time for Moscow to begin exploring solar-powered tanks.
All said and done, the sanctions by the US and UK are an aggressive push to cut off the flow of energy from Russia and dry up its war funds. It seems even the oil barrels are lining up for their next move in this geopolitical chess game.
Source: Deutsche Welle
