As EU member states have agreed to approve the 18th sanctions package against Russia, Ukrainian climate campaign group Razom We Stand warn that the bloc’s ongoing failure to truly tighten its oil price cap and end consumption of Russian fossil fuels only prolongs the war and costs more innocent Ukrainian lives.
The announcement comes just days after a Russian airstrike hit a shopping centre and open-air market in Dobropillia, Donetsk region, killing at least two civilians and injuring 27. Over 50 shops, 300 apartments, and multiple vehicles were destroyed in Wednesday’s attack.
While the new sanctions include 105 Shadow Fleet vessel designations (although up to 1000 are reported to exist), Razom We Stand stresses that the package still does not address the most urgent weaknesses in the West’s sanctions regime, including failure to implement structural controls over the shadow fleet, a dangerously high oil price cap and a full ban on Russian LNG.
The current $60 per barrel price cap on Russian crude oil is weak and ineffective. Even during periods when market prices fell to $42, the cap remained at $60, allowing Russia to profit handsomely from fossil fuel sales. Even a reduced dynamic oil price cap starting at $47.6/barrel and being adjusted every six months leaves the loophole open.
Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Executive Director of Razom We Stand, said: “While Ukrainian civilians are being killed in yet another Russian airstrike, the EU continues to water down its response to Putin’s war machine. A reduced oil price cap without strengthening enforcement is not a strategy and risks that the EU is allowing sanctions to become symbolic rather than strategic. Every penny above $20-25 flows straight into bombs, drones, and missiles raining down on Ukraine. The EU has the tools to strike at the heart of the Kremlin’s war economy—what’s missing is the political will. Until the EU imposes sanctions with teeth, innocent Ukrainians will continue to suffer.”
Moscow is increasingly shifting its liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports toward markets in Asia, most notably China and India, in an effort to make up for losses caused by restrictions on its oil and pipeline gas income. Although EU countries also continue to import huge amounts of Russian LNG. Between January and April, the EU imported Russian LNG worth €3.3 billion, with an additional €2.1 billion for pipeline gas. In April, the largest buyers of LNG from Russia were France (€230 million), Spain (€153 million), and Belgium (€83 million).
While the inclusion of 105 shadow fleet vessels is welcome, the EU still lacks a unified, enforceable strategy. Razom We Stand urges the creation of a Joint Aligned Vessel Sanctions List—applying sanctions consistently across all jurisdictions—as well as the scaling-up of national and EU-level enforcement teams.
Razom We Stand is calling for:
- A lowered price cap to $20–25/barrel,
- Immediate Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklisting of Russia,
- Dismantling of the entire Russian shadow fleet, and
- An immediate full embargo on Russian fossil fuels, especially LNG.
The recent REPowerEU proposals mark a welcome step towards ending Europe’s addiction to Russian gas. They finally proposed measures to trace the origin of gas imports and ban all new gas contracts and existing short and long-term contracts. However, to truly align with Europe’s energy security and moral commitments, these measures must be backed by an accelerated timeline for a complete phaseout of Russian gas. Every day of delay could keep billions flowing into Putin’s war chest.
Razom We Stand continues to call for a full embargo on Russian fossil fuels, the dismantling of the shadow fleet, and major reforms to sanctions enforcement mechanisms across the EU and
allied members.
ENDS
Razom We Stand is a Ukraine-based campaign group active internationally. It calls for a total and permanent embargo on Russian fossil fuels and an immediate end to all investment in Russian oil and gas companies by phasing out fossil fuels globally.
Svitlana Romanko has appeared in the top-tier international press, including Financial Times, Bloomberg, Politico, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, The Guardian, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, Newsweek, The Hill, Rolling Stone, and more.
