Britain targets Russia's $50bn Arctic oil project in new sanctions package as Burnham vows to 'turn the screws' on Putin's war funds

Published: 10:37 EST, 12 November 2026 | Updated: 10:41 EST, 12 November 2026 Britain has targeted Russia's flagship Arctic oil project as part of a new sanctions package as Andy Burnham pledged to 'turn the screws' on Vladimir Putin's regime.The Prime Minister announced the new sanctions as he attended a summit of European leaders in Dublin.The UK is also taking fresh action against Putin's 'shadow fleet' transporting Russian oil and gas, as well as Russia's major coal companies, and oil firm Slavneft.It means Britain is the first country in the world to have sanctioned all of Russia's top 10 oil producers, the Government said.At the heart of the new sanctions package is action against LLC Vostok Oil, which is state-controlled Rosneft's flagship Arctic oil project.Part of an almost $50billion (£38billion) investment, Vostok Oil is a vast development on the Taimyr Peninsula. Britain has targeted Russia's flagship Arctic oil project as part of a new sanctions package as Andy Burnham pledged to 'turn the screws' on Vladimir Putin's regime The announcement of the new UK sanctions coincided with Mr Burnham's attendance at the European Political Community (EPC) on ThursdayIn September this year, Russian state media distributed photos of Putin watching the launch of loadings on the remote Arctic coast via video link.The announcement of the new UK sanctions coincided with Mr Burnham's attendance at the European Political Community (EPC) on Thursday.At the Dublin summit, the PM was due to call on leaders from around 50 countries to pile more pressure on Putin to force him to engage seriously in peace talks with Ukraine.'Peace talks on Ukraine have progressed but now is not the time for complacency - we must continue to ramp up pressure on Russia to agree a full and immediate ceasefire,' Mr Burnham said.'That is why the UK has announced a sweep of stinging new sanctions to turn the screws on Russia's oil revenues and drive forward an end to the Kremlin's needless war.'We all now need to harness the momentum on negotiations and find a way forward for our security at home, and the security of our continent.'The PM was expected to co-chair a small group meeting on Ukraine alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the summit. The group was set to discuss how to build on the recent US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on ending the war triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion.Representatives from the US, Russia and Ukraine participated in the two days of negotiations in the Gulf state this week.Mr Zelensky stressed he wanted to see Europe involved in future peace talks.While at the EPC, the PM was also expected to co-chair a defence and security roundtable with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.Leaders were expected to use the roundtable to discuss Europe's response to the hybrid threat posed by Russia.