Overview
- The government published two targeted licences on 19 May and put them into effect on 20 May to allow diesel and kerosene refined from Russian crude in third countries and to loosen some LNG transport rules.
- Downing Street framed the changes as emergency, short-term steps to shield households from a fuel-price spike and said new bans on paraffin, naphtha and some lubricants were imposed at the same time.
- Opposition leaders and much of the British press have condemned the move as effectively sending money to the Kremlin and undermining the UK’s stance toward Ukraine, putting Prime Minister Keir Starmer under heavy political pressure.
- The decision mirrors a temporary 30-day US exemption and has drawn criticism from the European Union for being taken without clear allied alignment, raising questions about Western policy coordination.
- Analysts warn that allowing third-country refining creates routes for Russian crude to reach Britain via refineries in places such as India and Turkey and could boost Kremlin revenues, so ministers say the licences will be reviewed regularly and reversed when feasible.