How US ally South Korea is becoming a key fuel lifeline for Russia

US ally South Korea has emerged as a weak link in western sanctions against Russia, with more than 176,000 tonnes of fuel shipped from its ports to Russia in July and August, including cargoes carried by vessels sanctioned by the UK and EU, a Guardian investigation has found.The shipments included fuel carried by seven tankers on 14 voyages to Russia’s far east, with three of the vessels already under UK or EU sanctions.The Guardian’s analysis of South Korean port records and ship tracking data also found cases where tankers declared destinations such as Japan before sailing to Russia, while another sanctioned vessel received fuel through a ship-to-ship transfer near South Korea.Western sanctions on RussianWestern powers have targeted Russia’s oil trade to choke off a key source of revenue for Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The European Union bans imports of Russian seaborne crude and has also restricted imports of Russian petroleum products, while the G7-led price cap system limits access to western shipping and other maritime services for Russian oil sold above the permitted price.The EU has also stepped up efforts to target vessels involved in sanctions evasion. Its latest measures include port-access and service bans on additional vessels linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, as well as measures aimed at identifying ships and entities using deceptive practices to move Russian oil.Why Russia is importing fuelRussia is being forced to import refined fuel as Ukrainian drone strikes cripple its oil-refining capacity.According to The Guardian, Russian refinery throughput fell in June to its lowest level in more than 20 years, while diesel production dropped nearly 30 percent from a year earlier, forcing Moscow to look abroad for supplies.The scale of the shift is striking. Russia imports only small quantities of refined petroleum products, but in August it imported 368,000 tonnes by sea, more than seven times the previous month and the highest monthly level since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Kpler data analysed by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.India was the largest supplier, while South Korea supplied 112,000 tonnes, accounting for 31 percent of Russia’s seaborne petroleum-product imports that month.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.