Explained: What does a US ban on Russian oil accomplish?

Explained: What does a US ban on Russian oil accomplish?

Would a US-only ban on Russian oil hurt Moscow?

View of an oil extraction plant inaugurated by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (out of frame) in Boca de Jaruco, Mayabeque province, Cuba, on October 4, 2019. Photo: AFP

By AP Published: Tue 8 Mar 2022, 9:31 PM

With Russia intensifying its war on Ukraine, killing civilians and triggering a mass refugee crisis, President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a U.S. ban on imported Russian oil. Critics of Russia have said that sanctioning its energy exports would be the best — perhaps only — way to force Moscow to pull back.

A full embargo would be most effective if it included European allies, which are also desperate to stop the violence in Ukraine and the danger Moscow poses to the continent. Yet it’s far from clear that all of Europe would take part in an embargo, though Britain announced Tuesday that it would phase out Russian oil imports by year’s end.

Unlike the United States, Europe is deeply reliant on energy it imports from Russia, the world’s second-largest crude oil exporter behind Saudi Arabia. While the U.S. could replace the relatively small amount of fuel it receives from Moscow, Europe could not, at least not anytime