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Biden imposes his latest sanctions on Russia to pressure Trump

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Finnish authorities announced on January 8, 2025 that they had banned the oil tanker Eagle S, suspected of belonging to Russia's 'ghost fleet' and causing damage to five submarine cables, from sailing due to 'serious errors'. New sanctions target 183 ships believed to be in Russia's 'shadow fleet'. Eagle S was not on the new list

President Joe Biden’s administration is imposing new sanctions on Russia’s lucrative oil and energy sectors in a move aimed at depriving Moscow of money, leaving Donald Trump to decide whether to maintain or ease the pressure.

“The aim is to change Putin’s calculation about the costs of continuing a pointless war,” said a senior administration official, describing the new wave of sanctions. “Our sanctions are like pounds of sand in the gears of the Russian war machine,” the official boasted.

The move comes just days before Biden leaves office. Officials said the delay until after the November election was due to changes in the oil market, not domestic politics.

There is ‘no step in the production and distribution chain that remains untouched. Evasion will become even more costly for Russia,” an administration official said.

The administration predicts these measures will increase Russia’s costs by billions of dollars a month, although Moscow has become adept at trying to circumvent existing sanctions.

The 183 ships that make up Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ are also under fire, allowing the country to ship its oil products around the world to generate revenue despite existing sanctions. The goal is to push them to find alternative means and drive up costs in the process.

They are all owned by Russian-based fleet runners. Some of them also shipped sanctioned Iranian oil, according to the FBI. A UAE-based company and several Barbados-flagged vessels have also been targeted.

According to one analysis by European Parliament Russia uses ‘flags of convenience’ and complicated ownership structures in its shadow fleet to conceal ownership, sometimes exchanging cargo between ships, blocking automatic identification systems and sending false data, posing a variety of risks.

NATO has even sent a fleet of ten ships to the Baltic Sea to protect Europe’s crucial submarine cables after a wave of sabotage attacks.

Finnish authorities announced on January 8, 2025 that they had banned the oil tanker Eagle S, suspected of belonging to Russia’s ‘ghost fleet’ and causing damage to five submarine cables, from sailing due to ‘serious errors’. New sanctions target 183 ships believed to be in Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’. Eagle S was not on the new list

The sanctions also target major Russian companies, including Gazprom Neft, a subsidiary of Gazprom. The other is Surgutneftegas, a Russia-based company engaged in the exploration, production and sale of oil. Britain has also imposed sanctions on the two companies.

The US and allies imposed a series of sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, in a move aimed at weakening the country’s economy and raising the costs of continuing the war.

Although Russia has faced high inflation and high interest rates, the country has managed to adapt its economy to war situations while finding ways to acquire or build its own weapons by evading control.

The new designations, which come into effect after Russia’s invasion of Crimea, require the next administration to notify Congress if it wants to roll them back. That would give lawmakers a chance to reject the decision.

“So ultimately the government will have to make a decision about what it wants to do, but we believe that taking these actions will put them in a better position to help find a just and lasting peace,” the official said.

The new sanctions come just a day after the government announced it would provide another $500 million in security aid to boost Ukraine’s military arsenal in the final days before he leaves office, amid uncertainty over the prospect of whether possibility of negotiations with Russia.

Biden’s defense secretary warned of dire consequences if Russia manages to swallow the country – and Ukrainian President Zelensky says it would be “crazy” to waste the alliance leaders who had come together to protect the country.

“We have come such a long way that it would, quite frankly, be crazy to drop the ball now and not continue to build on the defense coalitions we have created,” Zelensky said Thursday. ‘No matter what happens in the world, everyone wants to be sure that their country is not simply erased from the map.’

The security assistance announcement came after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Zelensky as he seeks to strengthen Ukraine’s economy and defense before handing power to Donald Trump.

The security assistance comes from US weapons stockpiles, as Austin met with Zelensky at Ramstein Air Base in Germany after working with a defense group in the latest move aimed at strengthening Ukraine.

“Our focus will be on maintaining momentum, delivering results and sending a clear message: the international community is resolute in its support for Ukraine,” Austin told reporters.

Biden's move leaves it to Donald Trump's new administration to decide whether to maintain or lift sanctions on Russia's energy sector.

Biden’s move leaves it to Donald Trump’s new administration to decide whether to maintain or lift sanctions on Russia’s energy sector.

He echoed a refrain from the Biden administration that the security of the U.S. and its allies is affected by what happens in Ukraine. “If Putin swallows up Ukraine, his appetite will only increase,” Austin said of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

There had been plans for a final meeting between Biden and Zelensky during the president’s trip to Rome, but the White House announced Wednesday evening that it was canceling Biden’s trip as he grappled with the massive wildfires in Los Angeles.

It would be another symbolic effort aimed at supporting the Ukrainian president, who faces new pressure from the new government to reach a negotiated solution three years after the Russian invasion.

Since the brutal invasion began, the administration has committed $65 billion in security assistance, with the Biden camp pushing to get every appropriated dollar out the door before handing the keys to Trump, whose aides have issued a series of comments saying that Kiev should do that. make a deal.

Combined, the Group of 50 countries has given more than $120 billion to Ukraine.

New sanctions are also planned to try to further hamper Russia’s economy, with inflation there at around 9 percent and interest rates rising.

Trump made another comment at his Tuesday press conference at Mar-a-Lago in which he expressed appreciation for Russia’s position — describing Moscow’s fear of NATO expansion even as the Biden administration opposed the calls from Kiev for full membership of the military alliance.

“A big part of the problem is that Russia – for many, many years, long before Putin – said, ‘You could never get NATO involved in Ukraine.’ Now, they said that. That’s written in stone, so to speak,” Trump said. “And somewhere along the way, Biden said, ‘No. They should be able to join NATO.” Well, then Russia has someone on their doorstep, and I can understand their feelings about that,” Trump said.

The Biden administration believes it has put Ukraine in a much stronger position, emphasizing that only Ukraine can decide when it is in its best interest to negotiate.

The aim was to strengthen Ukraine’s position, based on the belief that 2025 or a future period could be ripe for negotiations. It has come in the form of thousands of rockets and artillery rounds, plus $50 billion in economic relief loans derived from interest on seized Russian assets. ($20 billion from the US).

A US official said Ukraine has healthy weapons stockpiles and that the government has met its needs at every stage, including strengthening air defenses amid Russia’s repeated attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

Zelensky must decide if and when to attempt negotiations with Moscow as his forces continue to inflict casualties while inflicting heavy casualties on Russia's invading forces.

Zelensky must decide if and when to attempt negotiations with Moscow as his forces continue to inflict casualties while inflicting heavy casualties on Russia’s invading forces.

The Biden administration continues to provide military aid to Ukraine in its final days, as part of an effort to strengthen the country's overall position

The Biden administration continues to provide military aid to Ukraine in its final days, as part of an effort to strengthen the country’s overall position

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (right) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Thursday, January 9, 2025

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (right) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Thursday, January 9, 2025

About $4 billion remains in allocated funding for Ukraine, an amount the government is expected to spend. A December package provided $1.25 billion in yet another attempt to strengthen Ukraine in an uncertain future.

But the official said it is difficult to predict whether the Russians or Ukrainians will be ready for talks anytime soon, although the topic is increasingly discussed on both sides.

The transfer comes at a time when Ukraine has suffered some battlefield losses at the hands of Russian invaders in the east. A Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Kursk region has stunned Moscow and managed to hold some territory, while North Korean troops deployed to reinforce Russia’s counterattack have suffered heavy losses.

The US believes that Russia has suffered about 600,000 casualties, including those killed or injured, and is suffering about 1,500 casualties per day, while the gains are relatively small.

Although some US officials were critical of the tactics as Ukraine launched a surprise counterattack on the Kursk region at the risk of weakening its own defenses, troops have managed to hold ground, aided by US equipment.

Zelensky says 15,000 Russian soldiers were killed trying to drive them out.

“During the Kursk operation, the enemy has lost 38,000 soldiers in this direction alone, with almost 15,000 of these losses being irreversible,” he told the country, in figures that could not be verified.

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