The EU Has Lots of Options for Targeting Russian Oil. It Should Use Them

In banning Russian coal imports from August onward, the European Union has finally broken the “energy taboo” that had beset its discussions of punitive sanctions against Russia for the war in Ukraine. Yet, the coal ban is not going to hit Russia’s economy very hard. With the clock now ticking as Russia prepares its next offensive in eastern Ukraine, Europe should press ahead and move swiftly toward measures that target Russian oil imports.

Western sanctions adopted against Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine have been unprecedented in both scale and scope. They have also been insufficient. Russia’s economy has not crumbled, and the ruble has even recovered to its pre-war level. The key reason why these sanctions against Russia have largely missed their mark is because they had a significant blind spot: Energy exports from Russia to Europe were not targeted.