"Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at US ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine," US President Joe Biden said.
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The UK has matched the new ban with Boris Johnson’s government saying it would phase out the import of Russian oil by the end of the year.
Russia is among the world’s largest oil exporters. According to the report by International Energy Agency, it exported about 8 million barrels of oil and petroleum products last year. About 60% of the Russian crude oil exports go to Europe. The US accounts for 8%.
Even though a combined US-UK ban is not as damaging as a worldwide embargo, but the European Union (EU) has previously shown to follow the US’ lead when it comes to sanctions and providing military or financial support to Ukraine. The EU has recently announced a plan to cut down on Russian gas purchases by two-thirds.