Responses to the Russia/Ukraine Crisis – Sanctions Update No. 6

It is now over a year since Russia first invaded Ukrainian territory and countries in the West and beyond began imposing tough new financial and other sanctions on the Russian regime and its supporters. There are now few business sectors that remain untouched by the restrictions – financial and trade dealings with Russian entities, the import and export of all manner of goods to and from Russia, travel, manufacture, agriculture – all have been impacted to a greater or lesser extent.

In recent months it has been the reduction of, and in some cases, outright ban on, the importation of oil and gas that has been the most serious and impactful action taken by the G7 and allied countries. Even the shipment of oil and oil-related products to third countries is severely restricted by these nations, with the imposition of the oil price cap intended to allow Russian oil to continue to reach the global market while attempting to ensure that Russia is not able to profit unduly from it. Hundreds more individuals and business entities have become subject to asset freezes and other restrictions. Meanwhile, enforcement authorities are increasingly taking action to punish citizens who do not abide by their national sanctions regime.

In this update to our earlier articles in this series, we look at the major recent developments in the UK, EU and U.S. sanctions programmes and consider their impact.