The UK has secretly eased sanctions on Russian oil to import crude from the country currently at war with Ukraine.
The move comes as the world faces the fallout from the US-Israel war against Iran in the form of a serious fuel crisis.
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil trade, in retaliation for attacks by the United States and Israel. Countries around the world are facing fuel shortages as energy prices soar amid supply chain disruption.
Even the United Kingdom, an ally of Ukraine and a staunch critic of Russia’s military campaign, quietly relaxed sanctions on Russian crude oil to meet market demands.
Critics have accused British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of letting Ukraine down and providing a big boost to the Russian economy amid the ongoing conflict.
Under the relaxed sanctions, the UK will now allow imports of Russian jet fuel and diesel refined in third countries.
Government officials have defended the measures as “protecting the UK national interest”, while critics argue the development puts a “question mark” over the friendship between the UK and Ukraine.
Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko said: “I am deeply disappointed. I cannot understand it. I think it is the wrong decision.”
Earlier, the United States also eased sanctions on Russian oil imports, allowing limited purchases of Russian crude amid a global fuel shortage linked to escalating tensions involving Iran.
