President Joe Biden has concluded to ban Russian oil imports, strengthening the toll on Russia’s economy in retaliation for its attack on Ukraine, according to a report by AP.
The step was followed by requests by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to U.S. and Western officials to close the imports, which had been a glaring blunder in the vast sanctions put in the eye on Russia over the attack. Energy exports have kept a constant influx of cash flowing to Russia even after many serious restrictions on its financial sector.
Biden was set to confirm the move as soon as Tuesday, the person told AP, talking on condition of anonymity to talk over the matter before his comments. The White House announced that Biden would assert “actions to continue to hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked and unjustified war on Ukraine.”
The US will be behaving alone but in close talks with European allies, who are more conditional on Russian energy supplies. European countries have announced they plan to curtail their dependency on Russia for their energy demands, but filling the void without paralyzing their economies will likely take some time. Natural gas from Russia makes for one-third of Europe’s use of fossil fuel. The U.S. does not import Russian natural gas.
Biden had explained his hesitation to put energy sanctions at the outset of the war two weeks ago, saying that he was attempting “to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump.”
Gas prices have been surging for weeks because of the war and the intention of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector. The US national average for a gallon of gasoline rose up to 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday.
The United States normally imports about 100,000 barrels a day from Russia, only approximately 5% of Russia’s crude oil exports, according to Rystad Energy. Last year, approximately 8% of U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products came from Russia.
While Russian oil makes up a tiny amount of overall US energy imports, the US could supplement Russian crude with imports from other oil-rich countries, but that could come out to be politically problematic. Key US senators are telling the Biden administration to stop any oil import deal from the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela.
“The Biden administration’s actions to unify the whole world against a murderous tyrant in Moscow should not be undercut by propping up a dictator under investigation for crimes against humanity in Caracas,” announced Senator Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, in a statement late Monday. “The democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people, much like the strength and courage of the people of Ukraine, are worth much more than a limited thousand barrels of oil.”
