Oil prices remain jittery today as the market digests yet another sanctions-threat targeting Russia.
President Trump is said to be mulling new sanctions on Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers if Moscow doesn’t commit to a peace agreement with Ukraine by Friday.
Despite many threats, the Trump White House has yet to impose new sanctions on Russia since he took office. Already the Russian economy is incredibly isolated in the West’s eyes, while a growing Kremlin reliance on leading BRICS countries such as China and India has emerged.
Both of these countries have said they don’t plant to change course on Russian energy, even in the face of secondary sanctions which are being dangled by Washington.
Financial Times describes that oil sales from this ‘shadow fleet’ has been a key source of funding for the Kremlin’s war machine:
The “shadow fleet” consists of ships with obscure ownership structures that avoid Western services like insurance and logistics, making it difficult to penalize the owners directly. However, recent efforts to sanction the ships themselves have shown some success.
According to two individuals familiar with White House discussions, sanctions on the shadow fleet are viewed as a relatively straightforward way to increase pressure on Russia. A third source close to the administration confirmed that broader sanctions options, including targeting the fleet, are under review.
There are existing Biden era sanctions on over 200 named Russian crude, chemical, and product tankers. Trump has reportedly held back on expanding these sanctions on hopes of achieving ceasefire in Ukraine.
Russia has until Friday, sources cited in the FT say. “If enacted, additional U.S. measures would reinforce similar efforts by the European Union. Last month, the EU added over 100 ships to its sanctions list, raising the total to 415.”
This has done nothing to deter Putin’s ‘Special Military Operation’ in Ukraine. In many ways the West is out of ‘solutions’ as it has sanctioned Russia to unprecedented levels – and yet this has done little. The ultimate answer from Moscow’s point of view remains significant territorial concessions by Kiev and a clear binding pledge to never join NATO. And yet the Zelensky government has refused.
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