Overview

• The European Commission proposed ending purchases of Russian liquefied natural gas by January 1, 2027, marking the bloc’s first move to sanction Russian gas.
• The draft adds 118 tankers to the blacklist used to curb Russia’s ‘shadow fleet,’ bringing the total to about 560 vessels and tightening measures on oil re-exports.
• For the first time, EU sanctions would hit cryptocurrency platforms and impose new curbs on banks, traders, and third‑country enablers, including entities in China and India.
• The plan leaves pipeline oil exemptions for Hungary and Slovakia in place, raising veto risks, while reports say Brussels is also weighing separate trade measures to curb Druzhba flows.
• In parallel, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced the SHADOW Fleets Act to target evasion networks and Russian LNG projects, aligning U.S. tools more closely with the EU approach.