Days before departing President Joe Biden’s term ends, the United States and Britain announced penalties on Friday targeting Russia’s energy industry, notably the oil company Gazprom Neft.
Along with Russian oil giants Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, the US Treasury Department said that it was designating over 180 ships in order to fulfill “the G7 commitment to reduce Russian revenues from energy.”
The two businesses were sanctioned by the UK government at the same time, claiming that their earnings were “lining (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war chest and facilitating the war” in Ukraine.
“Taking on Russian oil companies will drain Russia’s war chest — and every ruble we take from Putin’s hands helps save Ukrainian lives,” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.
“Putin is in tough shape right now, and I think it’s really important that he not have any breathing room to continue to do the god-awful things he continues to do,” Biden told reporters Friday at the White House.
Gazprom Neft slammed the sanctions as “baseless” and “illegitimate,” Russian state news agencies reported.
“Gazprom Neft considers the decision to include its assets on the sanctions list as baseless, illegitimate and contrary to the principles of free competition,” Russian state news agencies quoted a company representative as saying.
Following the news, oil prices increased. At approximately 4:45 p.m. Washington time (2145 GMT), a barrel of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in March was up 3.6 percent at $79.68.
Biden acknowledged that petrol prices would increase “as much as three, four cents a gallon,” but he emphasized that sanctions would have a “more profound impact” on Russia when asked about the matter.
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