US Russia Sanctions Move in Both Directions as the EU's 22nd Package and Britain's 600 Tankers Carry the Load

The United States imposed its toughest Russia sanctions in October 2025, when it designated Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil companies. Those designations stand. Since then Washington has moved in both directions. In 2026 it removed several names from its lists, issued licences letting already-loaded Russian oil cargoes be delivered and kept extending the deadline for Lukoil to sell its foreign assets. On 1 October it designated A7, a Russia-linked payments network used to evade sanctions, under its Iran and criminal-network authorities.

Europe has filled more of the space. On 7 October 2026 EU ambassadors agreed a 22nd package listing 743 individuals and 826 organisations, among them 77 members of Russia’s Duma elected in occupied Ukrainian territory, plus an extension of the EU’s chemical weapons sanctions. By some counts it’s the largest yet. Foreign ministers are due to give final approval on 12 October. The next day Britain added 12 more tankers and 38 energy companies to its list, taking its count of sanctioned shadow fleet vessels above 600. London says its sanctions now cover more than 90% of Russia’s oil production capacity.

The EU’s year

The EU has passed three packages in 2026. The 20th, in April, listed 46 vessels, banned transactions with 20 Russian banks, targeted the ports of Murmansk and Tuapse and a port in Indonesia, banned dealings in the digital ruble, and used the EU’s anti-circumvention tool against a third country, Kyrgyzstan, for the first time. The 21st, in July, added 41 vessels, taking the EU’s total past 670, listed 218 people and companies, and let member states confiscate and sell cargoes from detained shadow fleet ships.

The oil price cap has fallen too. Under a dynamic mechanism set at 15% below the average market price of Russian Urals crude, the EU cut the cap to $44.10 a barrel from 1 February 2026, down from $47.60 and from the original $60. The July package froze it at that level until July 2027.

The EU also settled how to fund Ukraine without seizing Russia’s frozen assets. In April 2026 it finalised a €90 billion loan, financed by EU borrowing and joined by 24 member states, that Ukraine repays only if Russia pays reparations. €60 billion is for defence and €30 billion for the budget. On 8 October the Commission paid out €1.24 billion for drones and missiles.

Enforcement at sea

Listing ships is easy. Stopping them is harder. European navies have begun boarding. France seized the tanker Tagor in the Atlantic at the end of May 2026 with British help. Earlier seizures included the Ethera in the North Sea in March and the Deyna in the Mediterranean the same month. Courts are a constraint: Germany’s federal fiscal court blocked the sale of the seized tanker Eventin and its oil in December 2025.

Who carries the load

That leaves Europe carrying more of the effort. The EU and Britain each now list more than 600 vessels. The EU’s packages are larger, but they need unanimity among 27 governments, which is why each one takes months. Britain acts alone and can move in smaller, more frequent rounds.

What to watch

Formal adoption of the 22nd package on 12 October, and whether it includes any new vessels or economic measures, since early reports describe it mostly as listings. Then the first use of the new power to confiscate cargoes, which no member state has yet confirmed. Sanctions only bite as hard as their enforcement.