EU sanctions Gujarat refinery as it targets Russia’s energy sector 

“For the first time, we are designating a flag registry and the biggest Rosneft refinery in India,” says EU’s highest-ranking diplomat, Kaja Kallas

The European Union has sanctioned a Gujarat-based refinery owned by Nayara Energy Ltd. as part of a fresh sanctions package announced on Friday (July 18, 2025) targeting Russia’s energy sector. The announcement comes just as the U.S. Congress debates tightening sanctions on purchasers of Russian crude oil with India, China and Brazil being named by U.S. lawmakers as countries that could face penalties.

The new EU sanctions also include a lowering of the oil price cap, i.e., the maximum price countries can pay for Russian oil while using shipping and insurance from the advanced economies of the G7 group of countries, from $60 per barrel to $47.6 per barrel. The sanctions also include an EU-wide import ban on refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil and a full transaction ban on Nord Stream 1 and 2, natural gas pipelines that connect Russia and Germany.

The announcement went through after Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said he would stop blocking the sanctions package over fears for his country’s energy security because of a possible total EU ban on Russian gas by 2028.

“For the first time, we’re designating a flag registry and the biggest Rosneft refinery in India,” the EU’s highest-ranking diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on X, as she listed highlights of the 18th sanctions package.

Russian state oil firm Rosneft has a 49.13% stake in Nayara Energy’s refinery (formerly Essar Oil Ltd.), based in Vadinar, Gujarat. The remainder is owned by SPV Kesani Enterprises Co. Ltd., and individual investors. The refinery is India’s second largest, producing 4,00,000 barrels per day and operating 6,300 plus petrol pumps across India, as per its website. The company has reportedly been in talks with Reliance Industries Ltd. regarding a sale of its stake.

“Each sanction weakens Russia’s ability to wage war. The message is clear: Europe will not back down in its support for Ukraine,” Ms. Kallas said in a statement.

‘Full-fledged sanctions’ (travel bans, asset freezes, ban on providing resources) will apply to the refinery as per a statement from the EU.

The new package sanctions 14 individuals and 41 entities, bringing the total number of EU-listed entities to over 2,500. It also contains enhanced sanctions on Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’ — ships that are sanctioned or transacting in sanctioned goods.

An additional 105 vessels will now be subject to a ban from accessing EU ports and banned from a wide range of maritime services, bringing the total number of listed vessels to 444. A captain of a shadow fleet vessel and operator of an unnamed international flag registry have also been “listed” (i.e., subject to sanctions).

Also Read | India can secure oil even if Russian imports sanctioned, says Oil Minister Puri

As part of enhanced banking sanctions, the number of banks sanctioned and the breadth of the sanctions is set to increase and will include a total transaction ban for 45 Russian banks.

Twenty-six new entities have been added to the sanctions list for supplying dual-use goods to Russia and more companies have been sanctioned for supplying to Russia and Belarus’s military-industrial complex, as per a statement from the European Council.

The Hindu reached out to the European Council for further details of new entries on the sanctions.

The new oil price cap — set at 15% below the average market price of Russian crude — while not adopted by the entire G7 — was also adopted by the U.K., as the U.K.’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced.

U.K. announces GRU sanctions

The U.K. announced the names of and sanctions against three units of Russia’s military intelligence unit, the GRU, and 18 of the units’ intelligence officers on Friday for “a sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity over many years, including in the U.K.”, the FCDO said.

“GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.

The sanctioned units, the U.K. government said, had provided support for the 2022 Russian strikes against Mariupol, including the strike on the Mariupol Theatre, where hundreds, including children, were killed. Those involved with cyberattacks against Yulia Skripal, daughter of former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal were also sanctioned, the FCDO said. The father-daughter duo were the targets of Novichok (a nerve agent) poisoning in 2018, in Salisbury.