UK imposes first sanctions targeting ships violating Russian oil sanctions

London:Britain on Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin imposed its first sanctions targeting ships in the US’s “shadow fleet”, which it said was used to circumvent Western sanctions and continue trading in Russian oil.

“Today’s action marks the UK’s first sanctions targeting ships in Putin’s shadow fleet, which Russia has used to circumvent UK and G7 sanctions and continue to trade in Russian oil unhindered,” a government statement said.

The action, part of 50 new sanctions coordinated with G7 partners, also targets suppliers of ammunition, machine tools, microelectronics and logistics to Russia’s military, including entities based in China, Israel, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, the government said.

Present at the G7 leaders meeting in Italy Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “Today, through sanctions, we are once again increasing economic pressure to degrade Russia’s ability to fund its war machine,” the statement said. “Putin must be defeated, and ending his ability to finance a long-running conflict is vital.”