U.K. Sanctions Russia’s New Arctic LNG Fleet in War Economy Crackdown

Britain on Tuesday became the first G7 country to sanction ships newly acquired by Russia to export liquefied natural gas from its sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project.

The four targeted LNG ships were included in a broader sanctions package hitting 70 individuals and entities accused of propping up Russia’s war economy.

“The U.K. is the first G7 country to sanction several LNG vessels recently acquired by Russia at great expense to service Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project,” the British government said in a statement.

Britain also targeted more than 20 oil tankers, ship insurers and maritime service providers operating within Russia’s sanctions-evading “shadow fleet.” To date, London has sanctioned a total of 600 “shadow fleet” and Russian LNG vessels.

The United States sanctioned the Arctic LNG 2 project as production began at the end of 2023, prompting its foreign shareholders to suspend their participation. Britain later joined the U.S. sanctions by adding the project to its asset freeze registry.

According to the British government, those sanctions have successfully limited Russia to exporting just 1.3 million metric tons of LNG through Arctic LNG 2 in 2025 despite its annual capacity of 13.5 million tons.

Targeting what U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called “money and actors propping up Russia’s war economy,” the latest measures also hit Yandex Bank, Wildberries Bank, 10 GRU military intelligence officers and a GRU front company, Neptune, suspected of covertly procuring Western technology for the Russian military.

Mirroring a similar European Union sanctions package a day earlier, Britain also penalized third-country military equipment suppliers based in China, Turkey and Thailand, alongside a Nigerian financial entity accused of facilitating Russia’s sanctions evasion.