What Europe Risks With Wider Sanctions on Russian Oil

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The campaign by western nations to defund the Kremlin and force President Vladimir Putin to abandon his war in Ukraine has reached a delicate phase. On Feb. 5, the European Union joined the UK and the US in banning seaborne imports of Russian diesel and other oil products. The measure, coupled with a price cap on Russian fuel exports, is designed to blow a sizable hole in Moscow’s energy revenues. The flip side: If European buyers are unable to find alternative supplies, the sanctions will heap new costs on diesel-reliant industries such as farming and road haulage and make it harder for governments to rein in inflation.