UK quietly eases Russian oil sanctions as expert warns Kremlin will see ‘weakness’
The United Kingdom on May 19 quietly issued a new license for imports of diesel and jet fuel made from sanctioned Russian oil, as well as a separate license for the maritime transport of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The move comes a day after the United States once again extended its own sanctions waiver on Russian oil, in an effort to stabilize skyrocketing fuel costs amid the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
The first license permits imports of diesel and jet fuel made from Russian oil if “the products have been processed in a third country,” according to the U.K. government web portal. These products are exempted from the U.K.’s general ban on Russian oil products processed in other countries.
The license takes effect on May 20 and is indefinite, but it can be revoked or suspended at any time.
Separately on May 19, the U.K. issued a general license covering the maritime transport of Russian LNG. It allows the transport and delivery of LNG by ship from Russia’s Sakhalin-2 or Yamal LNG terminals.
That license expires on Jan. 1, 2027.
“We are committed to strengthening our sanctions on Russia to degrade its ability to wage war in Ukraine, whilst protecting critical supply chains and maintaining market stability,” a spokesperson for the U.K. government told the BBC.
John Foreman CBE, an associate fellow at Chatham House and former U.K. defense attache to both Kyiv and Moscow, called the move “cynical but understandable.”
“But it is hard to pose as the leader of the ‘coalition of the willing’ when doing dirty deals,” Foreman told the Kyiv Independent. “(U.K. Prime Minister Keir) Starmer has always maintained a very high moral tone, which this undercuts.”
Alexander Kirk, a sanctions campaigner at the NGO Urgewald, said the move sends the wrong signal to Moscow, noting that Russian state media is already portraying it as proof that Western resolve weakens when fuel prices rise.
“Celebrations will be happening in the Kremlin today… The danger here is not just the economic signal, but the political message it sends,” he said. “Moscow will read this as weakness.”
The U.K. has been one of Ukraine’s leading partners since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Alongside France’s Emmanuel Macron, Starmer has positioned himself as the leader of the coalition of the willing — a group formed in 2025 to establish long-term security guarantees for Kyiv.
London’s Russian oil waivers also come on the same day that the Group of Seven (G7) published a statement reaffirming its commitment to put pressure on Russia, including sanctions on the energy sector and “actions against entities in third countries that materially support Russia’s war effort.”
The licenses reflect a deepening global energy crisis, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz putting supply lines in a chokehold. Jet fuel prices have risen, leading to higher airfare costs and other disruptions to air travel.
Previously, the U.S. — a G7 member, like the U.K. — issued its own sanctions waiver on Russian oil, allowing the purchase of Russian oil stranded at sea. Washington has twice renewed the license despite previously pledging not to do so.
Senate Democrats previously said the initial waiver, combined with elevated oil prices during the Iran war, provided Russia with roughly $150 million per day — more than $4 billion by the time the first exemption expired, according to estimates shared with the Kyiv Independent.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has stepped up its own “long-range sanctions” campaign against Russian energy assets, which provide fuel and funds for Moscow’s war chest. Ukrainian forces on May 18-19 struck a Lukoil refinery — one of the largest in Russia — and an oil pumping station in their latest attack on Russian oil infrastructure.