Russia's allies must not be allowed to dodge sanctions
The EU is finally recognising and respecting Russia’s ability to circumvent sanctions. For too long, the EU and the West have ignored Russia’s use of deniable assets and operations hiding behind paper thin veils of secrecy.
Russia was allowed leeway that simply should never have existed. It is also about time that the West clamps down on Russia’s main income stream and one of its prized assets in the international arena. Russia’s energy exports were used for years to blackmail Europe into inaction over Putin’s malignant activities in Europe and around the world. Europe’s obeisance to these exports nearly condemned Ukraine.
Fortunately, it seems we have finally turned a corner. At the outset of Russia’s barbaric and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the EU finally woke to the danger of reliance on Russian energy and started rejecting Putin’s poisoned gifts. Yet, shockingly, Russian energy has remained accessible and has continued to flow.
This will now change. Action is, at long last, being taken against Russia’s ‘covert’ exports and those that are enabling Russia to flout the international community’s sanctions regimes. This is the first time that the secretive maritime commerce operations of Russia’s so-called “dark fleet” and other vessels shipping equipment, grain, LNG or other resources to and from Putin’s dictatorship.
In further good news, the EU has not shied away from targeting companies operating from outside Russia. China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are all hosting entities that have been bypassing the previous set of restrictions. No more.
However, even as the EU ramps up the pressure on these deniable shadow assets – more can always be done. Hitting foreign-based individuals and companies aiding Putin’s despicable war on Ukraine with sanctions is a good step but many of these will have more than just the Russian state backing them.
Indeed, Russia’s main avenues of support comes from despotic and dangerous regimes around the world, regimes that are usually enemies of the West and Europe already. China, Iran, North Korea and Russia – the latest axis of evil, committed to mutual aid and the destruction of the West. Arms, trade, supplies, services – nothing seems to be off the table when it comes to their interactions.
Therefore, it is time that the West expanded its sanctions to those nations actively aiding and abetting Russia’s bloody imperialist war. North Korea is believed to be about to help Russia beyond simple aid. It has been reported that its latest agreements with Russia will include sending members of its armed forces to join the war.
As awful as this would be, it would not be the first nation to send troops in support of Russia. Cuba has already sent thousands of its citizens into the invasion. It has attempted to block international efforts to support Ukraine. This is a murderous regime that receives hundreds of millions of euros of support every year.
A message could be sent to Russia’s allies. That their support for Russia will not be tolerated. All funding and all revenue streams coming from Europe and the West must be considered on the table for sanctions. We cannot be afraid of decisive action.
Dr. Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat is an award-winning author, co-founder and spokesperson for the Cuban Democratic Directorate, a nongovernmental organisation that supports the human rights movement in Cuba.
