U.S., RUSSIA SANCTIONS

N - January 14, 2025 - The outgoing US administration has imposed sanctions on more than 200 entities and individuals involved in Russia’s energy sector. The Department of State is sanctioning nearly 80 entities and individuals, including those engaged in the active production and export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia. Others include those attempting to expand Russia’s oil production capacity; those providing support to the US-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project; those involved in Russia’s metals and mining sector; and senior officials of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom. The United Kingdom is also targeting the Russian energy sector.

“The Department of State’s designations aim to reduce Russia’s oil and natural gas revenue through sanctions on operators of significant Russian crude oil production and liquified natural gas projects. We are designating the chief executive officer and members of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom’s (Rosatom),” according to a State Department Fact Sheet.

“The United States will continue to use all tools at its disposal to disrupt support for Russia’s military-industrial base and curtail the Kremlin’s ability to exploit the international financial system and generate revenue in furtherance of its war against Ukraine,” it says. The Department “is designating senior officials of Rosatom, including Chief Executive Officer Alexey Likhachev and members of Rosatom’s Management Board. This is the eleventh Russia sanctions action that includes Rosatom-related designations”.

It continues: “The individuals designated today enable Rosatom’s involvement in Russia’s nuclear weapons complex and defence sector, nuclear power plant construction exports, development of advanced technologies and materials, non-uranium extractive industries and associated businesses, and malign activities including the occupation of Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant.”

The US had previously designated important members of Rosatom’s Supervisory Board in relation to other (non-Rosatom) roles they held. These included chairman of the Supervisory Board Sergei Vladilenovich Kiriyenko and Supervisory Board members Denis Valentinovich Manturov, Larisa Igorevna Brycheva, Sergey Borisovich Korolev, Aleksandr Valentinovich Novak, Yuriy Petrovich Trutnev, and Maxim Stanislavovich Oreshkin.

The latest actions bring the total number of Rosatom-related designations to nearly 70 subsidiaries and related individuals. “They also serve to align our actions with past designations of Rosatom board members by the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada. These designations are consistent with G7 commitments to reduce Russian nuclear energy supplies and services.”

The newly targeted individuals include:

• Alexey Evgenyevich Likhachev, Rosatom CEO and a member of Rosatom’s Supervisory and Management Boards.
• Nikolay Nikolayevich Spasskiy, Deputy Director General for International Relations and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.
• Kirill Borisovich Komarov, First Deputy Director General for Development & International Business and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.
• Alexander Markovich Lokshin, First Deputy Director General for Nuclear Energy and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.
• Sergei Gennadyevich Novikov, Deputy Director General for Execution of State Powers and Budgeting and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.
• Konstantin Ivanovich Denisov, Deputy Director General for Security and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.
• Oleg Vasilyevich Kryukov, Director for Public Policy on Radioactive Waste, Used Nuclear Fuel and Nuclear Decommissioning and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.
• Andrei Vladimirovich Nikipelov, Deputy Director General for Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Solutions of Rosatom and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.
• Yuri Vladimirovich Yakovlev, Deputy Director General for the State Safety Policy in the Defence Uses of Atomic Energy and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.
• Sergei Aleksandrovich Obozov, Deputy Director General for Development of Rosatom’s Production System and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.
• Yurii Aleksandrovich Olenin, Deputy Director General for Science and Strategy and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.
• Andrei Yuvenalyevich Petrov, Director General of Rosenergoatom and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.
• Ilya Vasilyevich Rebrov, Deputy Director General for Economy and Finance and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.
• Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Ruksha, Deputy Director General for the Northern Sea Route Directorate and a member of Rosatom’s Management Board.

In a statement, Rosatom said it had adapted to the sanctions and is ready for any development. Rosatom said that, despite the sanctions it will fully honour its obligations to its partners. “We have been living in a regime of increasing sanctions pressure for almost three years, we have adapted to it and are ready for any development of events. Rosatom continues to work and fulfil its obligations to its partners in full.”

Rosatom said the sanctions against its leadership were unjustified and stated that it perceives them as an element of unfair competition on the part of unfriendly states. “The introduction of personal sanctions directed against the management of the state corporation only underlines their unjustified and illegal nature,” the statement said. “Today, Rosatom is the world leader in the export of nuclear energy technologies, so sanctions are perceived as an element of unfair competition on the part of unfriendly states.”

The Kremlin hopes that Russia will be able to resist new US sanctions related to nuclear energy, Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said. “We believe that Rosatom will continue its international activities. It is one of the leaders, undisputed leaders of the international nuclear market and the peaceful energy market. And of course, it has a lot of natural high-tech and competitive advantages. It is clear that the United States will continue to try to undermine the position of our companies in uncompetitive ways. Of course, we expect that we will be able to counteract this.”

Peskov added that “such decisions cannot but lead to a certain destabilisation of international energy markets,” in particular oil markets. “We predicted that until the last day of his stay in the White House, Mr Biden and his administration will do everything to leave, perhaps, the worst legacy in terms of bilateral relations with Russia. They consistently follow this line.” He concluded: “We will very carefully monitor the consequences – first, and of course – configure the work of our companies so as to minimise the consequences of these decisions, illegal decisions.”

Reporting on the sanctions, Kazakhstan’s InBusiness asked “Will sanctions against top managers of Rosatom affect the choice of a partner for the construction of nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan?”

The paper noted that Rosatom “is included in the shortlist of the Kazakh government for a potential participant in the consortium for the construction of nuclear power plants”. It added: “The construction of the plant can most likely be carried out with the money of the foreign company itself, which offers its nuclear reactors and related services to Kazakhstan. The head of Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, last year announced the estimated cost of building a nuclear power plant, and it was $23-24bn.Previously, various structures of Rosatom were subject to Western sanctions.” The paper also noted that the new package of US sanctions against the Russian energy sector “also includes two Kazakh companies associated with Russia”.

Russia is currently building NPPs in Turkey, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, Hungary and Uzbekistan. While the sanctions may complicate these projects, officials have said they expect them to continue on schedule.

It is notable that in its statement the US State Department specified that the targeted individuals were involved in “non-uranium extractive industries and associated businesses”. This is no doubt because the US still depends heavily on Russia for enriched uranium supplies.

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