5 steps to victory: Ukraine has a new plan to increase pressure on Russia
16 September 09:52
The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, has announced the preparation of a new working document (No. 23) containing a comprehensive plan to increase economic pressure on the Russian Federation. He wrote about this in Telegram, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Key mechanisms of the sanctions plan
The sanctions group at the Presidential Office proposes to implement five main areas:
- Maritime sanctions. Extension of sanctions restrictions to more than 400 vessels of Russia’s shadow fleet used to circumvent existing restrictions.
- Price regulation. Reduction and regular adjustment of price ceilings for Russian oil and premium oil products in order to reduce revenues from energy exports.
- Secondary sanctions. Introduction of severe restrictions and port embargoes for countries and companies that help the Kremlin circumvent international sanctions.
- Frozen assets. Intensifying the use of frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s needs.
- Technological control. Eliminating loopholes in technology export controls, especially through third countries.
“We need to move to systematic and aggressive economic pressure on Russia. Muscovy must finally lose the resources to continue the war. The sanctions coalition must remain resolute and united,”
– yermak wrote.
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Previous successes and strategic goal
According to Yermak, a number of proposals from the previous documents of the sanctions group have already become the basis of sanctions packages of Ukraine’s international partners. The new document is
“actually a clear plan for the next wave of sanctions, ready for implementation.”
The head of the Presidential Office emphasized the need to move to systematic and aggressive economic pressure on the Russian Federation. The main goal is to deprive Muscovy of resources to continue the war against Ukraine.
Russia’s shadow fleet
The term “shadow fleet” is used to refer to old oil tankers used by Russia to circumvent Western sanctions imposed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
These tankers operate under unclear control and often without insurance, which allows them to circumvent Western sanctions. They transport more than 80% of Russian oil, despite the embargo.
According to Michelle Wiese Bockmann, chief analyst at Lloyd’s List Intelligence, a maritime analytical group, as of the beginning of this year, the active shadow fleet carrying Iranian, Russian and Venezuelan oil numbered about 669 tankers. Of this number, 250-300 tankers were usually engaged in the transportation of Russian oil.
According to estimates by the Kyiv School of Economics, cited by Suspilne, the total number of tankers in the Russian shadow fleet is approximately 600 vessels. At least a third of them were purchased from Western companies.
As of the beginning of the year, Western governments have imposed restrictions on about 300 tankers in total. In January 2025, the United States added 155 tankers to the sanctions list. Thus, more than 450 vessels have allegedly been sanctioned.
At the same time, it is known that different countries impose sanctions on different vessels, so it is difficult to calculate how many vessels are simultaneously sanctioned by the US, the EU, Britain and Canada, etc.
Judging by the fact that Yermak is calling for sanctions to be imposed on another 400 ships of the “shadow fleet,” there is still room for improvement in this matter.
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