More effective processes have begun than Biden's delayed sanctions against Russia, says Alexander Kovalenko.

Sanctions have finally been imposed against Russia's shadow oil fleet... As the saying goes, better late than never. However, to introduce sanctions only after three years of war against something that has been fueling the Kremlin's military machine all this time is difficult to justify. Yet, the more intriguing story is not about sanctions against Russian tankers but rather about protecting nature from them.

Everyone has read the news about the vessel Eventin from the Russian shadow fleet losing power off the coast of Germany while transporting 99,000 tons of oil. This has raised significant concern among European policymakers.

But, a bit of background.

When Russia officially entered the civil war in Syria in 2015, it faced a serious issue due to a lack of sufficient ships and vessels to supply its military group in Syria. This was a prime example of how a quasi-empire confronted the problem of not having a modern fleet. At that time, I noted in my writings that outdated bulk carriers and fifty-year-old vegetable transporters were used to ensure the "Syrian Express."

Now, when Russia found itself under sanctions and the only way to export petroleum products became through smuggling via sea routes, it turned out that there weren't enough new, modern vessels available. Instead, they relied on ships that were, to put it mildly, barely seaworthy. The disaster in the Sea of Azov, which has now spread to the Black Sea, with the oil spill, is another glaring example of this.

Less than six months after the Azov disaster, another vessel loses power off the coast of Germany, a country where you would be charged exorbitantly for a soiled seagull, unlike in Russia, where everyone has simply ignored the ecological catastrophe.

The current incident with Eventin may initiate processes that could prove to be far more effective than the delayed sanctions from Joe Biden – Russia might find its access through the straits of the Baltic Sea countries restricted. In this case, it concerns the active stance of the "greens," whose influence can accelerate various processes significantly, unlike the average European bureaucracy.

Therefore, while sanctions are certainly a good step, it seems that the Russian shadow fleet has dug its own grave with its ineptitude and obsolescence.

Let's keep watching!