The restrictions target foreign firms that help Lukoil and Rosneft transport crude to global markets
The UK has extended its energy sanctions against Russia’s largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, by targeting their foreign partners, according to a document published on the British government’s website on Wednesday.
The measures include asset freezes and restrictions on services and transportation linked to the firms. Both Russian oil majors were already under sectoral sanctions.
The British government has prohibited vessels owned, controlled, chartered, or operated by Rosneft from entering UK ports. Additionally, aircraft associated with the company are barred from flying over or landing in the UK.
”At the same time, we are ramping up pressure on companies in third countries, including India and China, that continue to facilitate getting Russian oil onto global markets,” British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves told reporters while on a trip to the US, as cited by Reuters.
The updated sanctions target Indian company Nayara Energy, a private Indo-Russian firm in which Rosneft holds a 49% stake, according to the document. The list also includes Chinese company National Pipeline Group Beihai Liquefied Natural Gas, which was cited for its dealings with vessels subject to British sanctions.
Another 51 oil tankers from what the document describes as a Russian “shadow fleet” used to transport crude have been added to the sanctions list.
In addition, the restrictions affect Russia’s National Payment Card System and several banks, including Transstroibank, Primsocbank, BBR Bank, and Solid Bank, due to their activities in sectors considered strategically important to the Russian government.
Earlier reports indicated that from 2024 to 2025, the UK allocated about £756,000 (around $1 million) to research the effectiveness of its sanctions imposed on Russia. Last month, London expanded its sanctions package against Moscow, targeting firms based in Hong Kong, Thailand, India, and Türkiye.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Western governments have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia, which Moscow deems illegal. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has described them as a “double-edged sword,” warning that “each new package adds a negative effect for the countries joining it.” He stated that Russia has developed “a certain immunity” to Western sanctions.
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