Britain said on Wednesday it will continue to allow imports of diesel and jet fuel refined from Russian crude in third countries, deferring a ban first announced in October 2025 to help the country cope with supply issues caused by the Iran war. The decision, announced through a trade licence published on May 20 by the Department for Business and Trade, takes effect immediately for an indefinite period and will be reviewed periodically. Under the carve-out, Britain has reopened imports of jet fuel and diesel refined in third countries such as India and Turkey that may be derived from Russian oil, as prices surge and supply chains tighten.
The backdrop to the reversal is a global energy market under acute stress. Brent crude was trading at around $109 a barrel on Wednesday — roughly 50 percent higher than before the Iran war — reflecting severely disrupted flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint that normally handles around 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products per day. The closure has removed roughly 20 percent of global oil trade, forced Gulf producers to curtail output, and pushed buyers worldwide to compete for non-Gulf supplies, with Russian crude repositioning itself as one of the most sought-after alternatives on international markets.
Starmer Defends the Move; Critics Call It a Betrayal
Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament the measures were part of a broader sanctions package that continued to increase pressure on Moscow, describing the licence as a way of phasing in the ban rather than abandoning it. "This is not a question of lifting existing sanctions in any way whatsoever," Starmer said. Trade department minister Chris Bryant framed the decision as a response to "the situation in the Middle East" and pledged to suspend the licence — effectively implementing the ban — as quickly as possible. Bryant later apologised to MPs for what he called the government's "clumsy" handling of the announcement, saying he wanted the exemption to be "as temporary as possible."
The defence did not stop criticism from cutting across party lines. Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch told Starmer directly in parliament that he had chosen to "buy dirty Russian oil" and that the money would fund the killing of Ukrainian soldiers. Senior Labour backbencher and Foreign Affairs Committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry was equally pointed, saying Ukraine had been "very let down" by a government that had promised to close the loophole in October and had not done so. Ukrainian opposition lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko told Times Radio the decision was "deeply disappointing" and raised a "question mark" over Britain's support for Kyiv. An adviser for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian president's office had "very active communication" with the British government, which was still clarifying details of the decision.
Britain's Structural Refining Gap
The underlying vulnerability the licence exposes is structural. Britain now has only four active refineries — down from nine in 2000, following the recent closure of the Lindsey facility — with a combined capacity of around one million barrels per day. But its total product demand in March stood at 1.35 million barrels per day according to the latest IEA data, with 61 percent of that demand accounted for by diesel and jet fuel, which Britain does not produce in sufficient quantities domestically. In 2025, Britain imported 483,000 barrels per day of middle distillates, according to data from Kpler, with India, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE supplying 35 percent of that total. Much of what comes from India and Turkey is refined from discounted Russian crude — the exact flow the October 2025 ban was designed to curtail.
Airlines had warned in April about potential summer shortages of jet fuel, and while carriers recently struck a more bullish tone on near-term availability, many have already hiked fares and cut some flights in response to cost pressures. Junior Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson defended the licence as a "sensible decision" to ensure supply security for industry, airlines, and households, while noting that Britain continues to provide billions of pounds of military equipment to Ukraine and that thousands of sanctions against Russian individuals, businesses, and ships remain in force.
Washington and Brussels Diverge on Russian Oil Waivers
Britain's move did not take place in isolation. The United States extended a sanctions waiver on Monday allowing purchases of Russian seaborne oil to support energy-vulnerable countries hit by supply disruptions — the second such measure since one was first introduced in March. EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis criticised Washington's extension, warning it risked boosting Russia's revenues. "From the EU point of view, we do not think that this is the time to ease pressure on Russia," Dombrovskis said on Tuesday. Separately, Britain on Tuesday issued a licence running until January to cover the maritime transportation of liquefied natural gas from the Sakhalin-2 and Yamal projects, along with related shipping, financing, and brokering services — two of Russia's largest gas export operations. The Home Secretary retains the right to change, revoke or suspend either licence at any time, and the government said it would endeavour to publish any revocation decision at least four months in advance.
