Swedish foreign minister calls for “massive blow” to Russia’s economy

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard has urged the European Union to tighten sanctions against Russia, proposing a ban on maritime services for vessels transporting Russian oil, gas, and coal.

In an article for The New York Times, she stated that such a measure — including bans on insurance, port access, and financing — could deliver a “massive blow” to Moscow’s revenues.

Stenergard said that one measure, in her view, could have a significant impact: a ban on maritime services—including insurance, port access, and financing—for any vessel departing Russian ports carrying oil, gas, or coal. She added that Sweden would like the European Union, and ideally the rest of the G7 countries, to adopt this measure.

“There are several reasons to believe that Russia has been exaggerating its economic strength. Russia has claimed that its economy grew by around 13 percent between 2020 and 2024, but by measuring nighttime luminosity, an established way of assessing economic activity in countries where official statistics are not available or cannot be trusted, we have estimated that the economy actually contracted by around 8 percent during this period,” the minister stated.

Stenergard stressed that moving from price caps to a full prohibition on services for Russian tankers would significantly increase economic pressure on Russia and reduce its financial resources.

She also noted that existing Western sanctions remain effective and called for continued efforts to intensify pressure.

Previously, the UK Foreign Office said that Stephen Doughty announced plans for Britain to ban the provision of maritime services to carriers of Russian liquefied natural gas by the end of 2026.

By Jeyhun Aghazada