Ukraine’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN Serhii Kyslytsya stressed the need to deprive Putin’s Russia of revenues from energy trade in order to stop financing the war against Ukraine.
Kyslytsya stated this at a meeting of the UN Security Council on January 16, Ukrinform’s own correspondent in New York reports.
“Oil and gas revenues constitute the main source to this end. It is essential therefore to dry up these revenue streams by strengthening primary and secondary sanctions against Russia’s economy,” the ambassador said.
The diplomat explained that the current sanctions pressure on Russian oil export capacities must be intensified According to him, Russia’s “shadow fleet” consists of over 600 vessels, transporting approximately 90% of its oil.
“The aging tanker fleet represents a serious environmental and human health hazard, as evidenced by the recent incident with two Russian tankers in the Kerch Strait,” Kyslytsya pointed out.
In his opinion, further restrictive measures against Russia may include reducing the price cap on Russian oil to $40 per barrel, imposing sanctions on the captains of shadow fleet vessels and crewing companies, strengthening oversight of tanker insurance compliance, and restricting the passage of tankers blacklisted under international port control memorandums.
Kyslytsya recalled that Russia’s war budget for 2025 is 25% higher against last year’s. “If we want to stop the war, we should cut off Putin’s cash flow. Putin will start thinking about peace only when his inner circle tells him he is out of money,” the diplomat stressed.
In this context, the Permanent Representative welcomed the introduction of new sanctions by the U.S., UK and EU against part of the Russian shadow tanker fleet and companies serving as “Putin’s personal wallet.”
As Ukrinform reported earlier, on January 16, the UN Security Council met to discuss the situation in Ukraine in connection with the Russian war.
Source: Ukraine calls on UN to block Putin's petro-money flow
