UK bans Russian gas imports

London had previously pledged to phase out purchases of Russian oil by the end of 2022

The United Kingdom will halt shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia as early as January, the Foreign Office announced on Friday.

“From 1 January 2023, the UK is ending all imports of Russian liquefied natural gas and supporting countries around the world in reducing their own dependency,” a statement posted on the Office’s Twitter account reads.

The announcement comes as part of a concerted effort by Western states to reduce their energy reliance on Moscow and strip the Russian economy of a massive source of revenue in light of the Ukraine conflict.

Shortly after the start of Russia’s military offensive in February, the UK announced plans to phase out imports of Russian oil and oil products – such as diesel – by the end of this year. 

In June, Kwasi Kwarteng, who was then UK Business and Energy Secretary, said the nation had received very little gas from Russia, adding that even those imports were down 75% to compared 2021.

READ MORE: UK to end Russian oil imports

Last year, Britain imported 3.12 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia, which accounted for 4% of total UK consumption. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Russia was Britain’s biggest supplier of refined oil, providing 24% of the country’s total supply. At the same time, the share of crude oil imports from the sanctions-hit nation totalled 5.9% last year.

In August, London reported that in June, imports of Russian fuel were down to zero for the first time since 1997.

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