Putin’s Shadow Sanctions-Busters Are a Test of Western Resolve
The US and Europe must do more to enforce the price cap on Russian oil and maintain pressure on the Kremlin.
Oil spills are waiting to happen.
Photographer: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images
For the past year, the US and its Group of Seven allies have imposed a cap on the price of Russian oil exports, banning traders that use Western services from selling Russian crude above $60 a barrel. The idea was to limit President Vladimir Putin’s ability to finance his war in Ukraine without causing a spike in global energy markets.
At least initially, the policy worked as intended, depriving the Kremlin of tens of billions of dollars in revenue. But as a Bloomberg News investigation and accompanying documentary reveal, Russia has devised an increasingly effective system to circumvent sanctions and continue selling oil to the developing world at prices above the $60-per-barrel cap. Maintaining pressure on Putin will require Western governments to adopt a tougher approach.