"We are in a strange position of building these extremely complex things, where we don't have a good theory of exactly how they achieve the remarkable things they are achieving," he says. "So having a better understanding of how they work will enable us to steer them in the direction we want and to ensure that they are safe."
"[These countries] know that sanctioning countries are willing to accept this. This is a loophole. It's entirely legal. Everyone's aware of it, but nobody is doing much to actually tackle it in a big way," says Vaibhav Raghunandan, an analyst at CREA.Campaigners and experts argue that Western governments have the tools and means available to stem the flow of oil and gas revenue into the Kremlin's coffers.
According to former Russian deputy energy minister Vladimir Milov, who is now a diehard opponent of Vladimir Putin, sanctions imposed on trade in Russian hydrocarbons should be better enforced - particularly the oil price cap adopted by the G7 group of nations, which Mr Milov says "He is fearful, though, that the US government shake-up launched by President Donald Trump will hamper agencies such as the US Treasury or the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which are key for sanctions enforcement.Another avenue is continued pressure on Russia's "
" of tankers involved in dodging the sanctions."That is a complex surgery operation. You need to periodically release batches of new sanctioned vessels, shell companies, traders, insurers etc. every several weeks," Mr Milov says. According to him, this is an area where Western governments have been much more effective, particularly with
by Joe Biden's outgoing administration in January 2025.
Mai says that banning Russian LNG exports to Europe and closing the refining loophole in Western jurisdictions would be "important steps in finishing the decoupling of the West from Russian hydrocarbons"."Knowing how important it is for people to have their voice heard in these places, it feels like a real responsibility."
People who enter the box are invited to write a postcard to the person who recorded a message they listened to.It will be at the top of Troopers Hill, Bristol, on 1 June, under an oak tree at Ashton Court, Bristol, on 4 June, and at the top of Glastonbury Tor on 18 June.
A £285,000 revamp of an Oxfordshire town's arts centre has been approved, along with an improvement plan for the venue.The money from Vale of White Horse District Council will be spent on refurbishing the Beacon Arts Centre, in Wantage.