Russia has bypassed most int'l sanctions due to lack of united global action: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that the Russian government has bypassed most international sanctions due to the lack of a united global position against its invasion of Ukraine. Addressing the students of Stanford University students on Friday, Zelenskyy said several countries imposed sanctions on Russia and on the other hand, they were also helping Moscow to bypass most of them. "That's why, unfortunately, we are not seeing that sanctions have been putting much pressure on Russia," he noted. Further, he appealed to the world leaders to get united in imposing stringent sanctions on Russia. According to Zelenskyy, sanctions are the most useful weapon against Moscow.

Notably, ever since Russia announced a "special military operation" against Ukraine, Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian leaders have urged the West and the European countries to stay united in penalising Russia for its actions. As Russia's economy is highly dependent on energy export, Ukrainian leaders have frequently appealed to the world leaders to impose maximum sanctions on oil and gas. Despite the desperate appeal, some countries which are highly dependent on Russian energy resources, are exploring ways to purchase oil from Moscow. In the latest development, Euractiv reported that Germany and Italy have allowed companies to open ruble accounts to pay for the Russian gas and oil. The report claimed the main aim was to allow companies to continue buying Russian gas without breaching EU sanctions.

Russia exports €63 billion worth of fossil fuels since war; Germany remains top buyer

Despite European Union announcements of several rounds of punitive measures against the Kremlin, a report published in May claimed Moscow has exported a major chunk of its oil export to European countries. According to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, Russia has exported €63 billion worth of fossil fuels after initiating a ravaging war on Ukraine. Surprisingly, Russia has generated a revenue of 71% from the European countries since it announced to minimise its dependence on Russian energy. Among the EU, Germany remains the top buyer of Russian gas, as per the report. Earlier this month, several oil tankers arrived in the Thames from Russia carrying presumably, 33,000 tons of Russian diesel fuel.  

Image: Facebook/@VolodymyrZelenskyy