The European Union has imposed sanctions on five businessmen linked to Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft.

The European Union adopted fresh sanctions against Russian oil interests on Monday, targeting traders Murtaza Lakhani and Etibar Eyyub for helping Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions on crude exports that help to fund Russia's war in Ukraine.

Belgium has recorded a sharp increase in imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) via the port of Zeebruges despite European Union sanctions aimed at curbing Moscow's energy revenues, Belgian media reported on Thursday.

President Nikos Christodoulides on Thursday said the European Union must “confront” countries which attempt to help Russia evade sanctions placed on it as a result of its invasion of Ukraine. Speaking upon his arrival at the day’s European Council summit in Brussels,

The European Union is accelerating and expanding its sanctions regime to further erode Russia’s oil revenues by aggressively targeting its shadow fleet and closing loopholes in refined product exports.

Despite US sanctions on Russian oil majors, Indian refiners are maintaining robust crude imports. December shipments are expected to exceed 1 million

China buys Russian oil and gas at steep discounts while supplying Moscow with machinery and electronics as Western sanctions tighten.

The EU has imposed sanctions on the high-profile oil trader Murtaza Lakhani for allegedly assisting Russia’s Rosneft in exporting crude and other petroleum products in breach of western restrictions. Lakhani is the best known trader to have been targeted by Brussels since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The European Council on Monday sanctioned five people and four organizations accused of supporting the country's so-called shadow fleet.

Belarus had previously faced Western sanctions for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the invasion of Ukraine