In response to the ongoing War in Donbas, the European Union (EU) implemented its 18th sanctions package in July, introducing further restrictions on Russian oil exports. The new measures include a revised price cap—15% below market value—and the blacklisting of 100 additional tankers. These steps aim to reduce revenues from Russian oil and disrupt the so-called “shadow fleet” transporting it.
Despite existing sanctions, Russian gas continues to reach EU markets through indirect channels. While pipeline volumes have declined sharply, liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia remain active with countries like Hungary and Slovakia among the main récipients, while Transnistria—Moldova’s separatist region—has been heavily impacted by the end of the Russo-Ukrainian gas transit agreement in January 2025.
To bypass sanctions or reduce dependency visibility, some EU countries receive gas blended with Russian supplies transiting through Turkey, Georgia, or Azerbaijan. This “laundered gas” often mixes Russian and non-Russian sources, making its origin harder to trace. Such transit routes exploit regional networks and lack of strict tracking mechanisms, allowing Russian gas to re-enter EU markets indirectly under different labels.
Another common workaround involves refining Russian oil in India and re-exporting it to Europe at higher prices. These redirected flows raise logistical costs, thus impacting European consumers and resulting in mirrored economic losses on both sides.
Le Monde reports that former Kremlin adviser Dmitry Nekrasov remains skeptical of the sanctions’ effectiveness. Now based in Cyprus and aligned with the Russian opposition, Nekrasov points out that enforcement remains minimal. Of the 587 Russian-linked vessels sanctioned over three years, only about 2% have actually ceased operations, while the majority continue openly, with GPS tracking enabled. He estimates that only around 2,000 of the 15,000 total sanctions imposed on Russia have had notable impact. Among those, the freezing of Russian assets in Europe stands out as a rare measure that significantly affected Russia’s war effort.