US senator warns Kremlin’s oil machine collapses under pressure
Russian leader Vladimir Putin (photo: Getty Images)
US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse announced in Kyiv that aggressive steps are being prepared against Russia’s oil exports, warning that Moscow could soon face tanker seizures, according to his remarks while speaking to the press in the Ukrainian capital.
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The influential Democratic senator said the era of unpunished oil exports circumventing sanctions is drawing to a close. According to him, the West is ready to move from paper restrictions to real enforcement at sea.
Whitehouse added that at the recent Munich Security Conference, Ukraine’s allies finally agreed that without dismantling Russia’s shadow fleet, it is impossible to halt the financing of aggression.
The action plan outlined by Sheldon Whitehouse includes:
- De-anonymization: exposing the real owners of shell corporations that conceal tankers under foreign flags.
- Digital monitoring: intensified tracking of vessels that switch off monitoring systems in so-called dark voyages.
- The insurance noose: pressure on companies that continue to insure suspicious shipments.
From sanctions to boarding: a radical scenario
The most striking part of Whitehouse’s remarks was his proposal to draw on precedents from previous years. He referred to the case involving Venezuelan oil under a decision by US President Donald Trump.
The senator stressed that they had to be ready to do what had been done with a tanker from Venezuela’s shadow fleet — to board the vessel and seize it if necessary.
Such a statement indicates that in Washington, policymakers are considering the physical blocking of Russian exports as a real instrument of pressure.
Path to negotiations through an empty budget
The aim of the proposed steps is pragmatic: to cut off the flow of petrodollars funding Russia’s military. Whitehouse is confident that dismantling the shadow fleet would force Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table not on his own terms, but on terms of justice.
The senator also welcomed a new maritime initiative by European partners aimed at blocking Russian tankers from entering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
What this means for Ukraine
Stepped-up action against the shadow fleet would deal a direct blow to Russia’s military budget. If the US and the EU move to seize vessels in practice, Russian oil exports could fall by 30–40% in the coming months.
Kyiv is actively lobbying for these sanctions, as every detained tanker represents several dozen fewer missiles launched at Ukrainian territory.
Russia may also sharply cut oil production in the near future due to mounting pressure from US and EU authorities, potentially causing storage facilities to overflow.
