The measure aims to further limit Russian revenue generated from sales of energy resources and thus financing its invasion of Ukraine through them.
According to the latest European statistics from the European agency Eurostat, Russia exported petroleum products such as diesel worth more than 2.3 billion euros to the EU in October. Products were sold to Germany alone for the equivalent of 558 million euros.
The embargo was decided in June as part of the sixth package of European sanctions against Russia in retaliation for the invasion of its Ukrainian neighbor. It provides temporary exceptions for certain EU member countries.
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This European embargo is in addition to a ban on importing barrels of Russian crude oil by sea, which has already been in force since the beginning of December.
In addition to these bans on imports to the European bloc, the EU, G7 member countries, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the USA have agreed to cap the prices of Russian refined petroleum products.
The agreement includes a ceiling price of 45 euros per barrel for low-refined products such as fuel oil, and another of 100 dollars per barrel for more expensive products such as diesel.
In Belgium on Saturday, the day before the entry into force of the embargo, the environmental NGOs Greenpeace, Vredesactie and Bond Beter Leefmilieu (BBL) however denounced the “hypocrisy” of the country which increased its gas imports by 28%. liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Russia in 2022.