Easing of US Sanctions Fails to Boost Russian Oil Shipments, Kyiv Says

Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) said Russia has failed to increase oil exports in March despite a temporary easing of US sanctions amid intensified Ukrainian strikes. Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied This handout photograph published on the official Telegram account of the governor of the Leningrad region Aleksandr Drozdenko on Jan. 21, 2024, shows rescuers working to extinguish a fire at a natural gas terminal in the Russian Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga. (Photo by Handout / Telegram / @drozdenko_au_lo / AFP) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google Russia did not manage to raise its oil export volumes in March, even after the US temporarily eased certain sanctions, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) said on Thursday. The agency, in a press release , said logistical constraints and disruptions at key export infrastructure were among the primary reasons shipments failed to increase. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . Figures cited from S&P Global Platts indicate that oil volumes handled at Russian ports slipped to 3.46 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, down slightly from 3.49 million bpd in February, the agency said. Petroleum product exports followed a similar pattern, declining to 2.19 million bpd from 2.21 million the previous month. The SZRU noted sharp fluctuations at specific terminals. At Primorsk, one of Russia’s key Baltic ports, export volumes fell significantly toward the end of March, dropping from more than 1.1 million bpd to approximately 732,000 bpd. A comparable decline was recorded at the Ust-Luga terminal, where shipments fell to around 105,000 bpd between March 25 and March 31, compared with 471,000 bpd a week earlier. The timing coincides with Kyiv’s unprecedented waves of drone strikes against Russia’s Baltic ports in recent weeks, including Primorsk and Ust-Luga, costing Russia an estimated $970 million in oil revenues in a single week By the end of the month, activity involving petroleum products at the port had nearly come to a halt, the SZRU said. Other Topics of Interest Budanov Says Strikes on Russian Oil Terminal Strengthen Ukraine’s Position in Talks Ukraine’s former intelligence chief and now head of the Presidential Office said recent intensified attacks on Russian oil are strengthening Kyiv’s position ahead of future talks with Russia. Apart from the Baltic ports, Russia’s oil facilities on the Black Sea coast – including Feodosia in occupied Crimea and pumping stations near Novorossiysk – were also struck this week. A recent Norwegian study also cast doubt on Moscow’s ability to divert liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries from Europe to Asia amid logistical constraints . Ukraine’s head of the Presidential Office said Thursday that strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure were strengthening Kyiv’s negotiating position and likely to influence Moscow’s approach to upcoming peace talks, but shed doubt on whether they would change the Kremlin’s position. On Thursday evening, the Kremlin announced an Orthodox Easter ceasefire after Kyiv’s earlier call for the same – a rare occurrence where both have agreed to a ceasefire in over four years of intense fighting. Emiry Callum is a Social Media Editor and Editorial Writer at Kyiv Post. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and human communication from the University of Central Florida and has over a decade of experience in copywriting, copy editing, and marketing.