The United Kingdom on Wednesday announced 90 new sanctions targeting Russia’s oil sector and Indian petroleum firm Nayara Energy Limited, in a fresh bid to cut off Moscow’s wartime revenue streams.The UK’s foreign, commonwealth and development office (FCDO) said the coordinated action, taken jointly with the Treasury, was designed to “strike at the heart” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war funding machine.“Today’s action demonstrates the government’s determination to cut off Putin’s revenue streams – targeting Russian companies and their global enablers,” the FCDO said in a statement.

Sanctions hit ‘shadow fleet,’ oil terminals, and Indian refiner

The sanctions package targets four oil terminals in China, 44 tankers in what the UK described as a “shadow fleet” used to transport Russian crude, and Nayara Energy Limited, which the FCDO claimed had imported 100 million barrels of Russian oil worth over USD 5 billion in 2024 alone.London said the move is intended to “take Russian oil off the market” and choke off the flow of energy revenues feeding Putin’s “war chest” amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

EU sanctions

Nayara Energy earlier had been hit by European Union (EU) sanctions. “Nayara Energy operates in full compliance with the laws and regulations of India. As an Indian company, we are deeply committed to supporting the nation’s energy security and fostering economic growth,” Nayara Energy had said. “Recently, Nayara Energy has come under international scrutiny, facing political pressures and the imposition of sanctions by the European Union which have no legal basis. We categorically state that this unilateral move by the European Union is founded on baseless assertions, representing an undue extension of authority that ignores both international law and the sovereignty of India,” it added.

Focus on Rosneft, Lukoil — the Kremlin’s biggest earners

The UK said the new measures also directly target Russia’s energy behemoths Rosneft and Lukoil — two of the world’s largest oil exporters, together shipping about 3.1 million barrels a day.Rosneft alone, the FCDO noted, accounts for nearly half of Russia’s oil production and roughly six per cent of global supply.