Biden Hits Russian Oil With Harsh Sanctions in Bid to Help Kyiv, Trump

US President Joe Biden's administration imposed its broadest package of sanctions so far targeting Russia's oil and gas revenues on Jan 10, in an effort to give Kyiv and Donald Trump's incoming team leverage to reach a deal for peace in Ukraine.

- 

The move is meant to cut Russia's revenues for continuing the war that has killed or wounded tens of thousands and reduced cities to rubble since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on social media platform X that the measures announced on Jan 10 will "deliver a significant blow" to Moscow.

"The less revenue Russia earns from oil, the sooner peace will be restored," Mr. Zelensky added.

Mr. Daleep Singh, a top White House economic and national security adviser, said in a statement that the measures were the "most significant sanctions yet on Russia's energy sector, by far the largest source of revenue for (President Vladimir) Putin's war."

The US Treasury said it had imposed sanctions on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, which explore for, produce and sell oil, as well as 183 vessels that have shipped Russian oil, many of which are in the so-called shadow fleet of ageing tankers operated by non-Western companies. The sanctions also include networks that trade the petroleum.

Many of those tankers have been used to ship oil to India and China as a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven countries in 2022 has shifted much of the trade in Russian oil from Europe to Asia. Some tankers have shipped both Russian and Iranian oil.