From: New Voice of Ukraine 🇺🇦
The latest U.S. sanctions package, introduced on Jan. 10, has already caused delays in Russian oil shipments, but there is a way to cut Russia’s exports by 30%, according to Serhii Makohon, former CEO of Ukraine’s Gas Transmission System Operator (2019-2022).
Speaking to Radio NV, Makohon said that recent sanctions have targeted about 180 tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet, roughly a third of the total.
“This is a major blow. According to public sources, many Chinese ports are refusing to accept these vessels. This forces Russia to incur additional transaction costs—transferring oil offshore near Malaysia to ‘clean’ tankers before delivering it to China,” Makohon explained.
He added that secondary sanctions could further pressure Russia to offer deeper discounts on its oil, reducing revenues for the Kremlin.
“That’s a plus for us,” he said. “But China will not significantly cut its intake of Russian oil because cheap resources are beneficial to its economy.”
Makohon noted that while Russia has some oil pipelines, including the Eastern Siberia–Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline and a route through Kazakhstan, their capacity is maxed out and cannot be expanded due to financial and technological constraints.
Voice of Ukraine 