UK Softens Russian Oil Sanctions Amid Hormuz Supply Crisis

BBC Business reported Wednesday that the UK government has scaled back new Russian oil sanctions, choosing to phase in a planned ban on fuel products derived from Russian crude and imported via third countries rather than imposing it immediately.

Supply Shock Forces a Policy Rethink

The original measure, announced last October, was designed to close a loophole allowing Russian-origin jet fuel and diesel to enter Britain through refining hubs such as India and Turkey. The government has now issued short-term licences permitting those imports to continue while the ban is introduced gradually over coming months.

Officials cited the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the US-Israel conflict with Iran. The waterway carries more than half of Europe’s jet fuel. European prices for the fuel roughly doubled between late February and early April, climbing from around $831 per tonne to a peak near $1,838. Prices have since eased to approximately $1,375 but remain sharply elevated.

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Background: Years of Sanctions Loopholes

The BBC had previously revealed that millions of barrels of Russian-origin fuel continued reaching the UK through indirect routes despite earlier sanctions imposed from December 2022. Research group CREA estimated the UK imported roughly £1.8B worth of oil products refined from Russian crude via India and Turkey during that period. That reporting prompted the October 2025 pledge to shut the loophole.

The Foreign Office rejected the characterisation of this week’s move as a “waiver,” a label that drew heavy criticism when the US applied one last month. Downing Street insists existing sanctions remain intact and that new measures are simply being sequenced carefully.

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Political and Expert Criticism Mounts

Ukraine’s sanctions commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk said he understood the government’s reasoning but disagreed with the approach. He warned that even temporary exemptions risk generating additional revenue for Russia’s war effort.

Robin Mills, chief executive of Dubai-based consultancy Qamar Energy, called the shift a negative signal, arguing it suggests Russia sanctions are weakening under geopolitical pressure without meaningfully addressing the supply problem.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of backsliding on Ukraine commitments. Starmer defended the policy, telling parliament that no existing sanctions had been lifted and new ones were simply being introduced in stages.

Separately, the UK confirmed a ban on maritime transportation of Russian LNG, though a time-limited licence will allow existing arrangements to continue until 1 January 2027.

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