US Senators Accuse Trump of Failing to Block Russian LNG Funding War in Ukraine

Four Democratic US senators have accused Donald Trump's administration of weak enforcement of sanctions against Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project.

The Gaze reports on it, referring to Reuters.

According to Senators, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Kaine, Chris Van Hollen, and Angela Alsobrooks, Trump's current sanctions policy allows China to buy cheap liquefied gas and finance the war against Ukraine.

In September they called on the administration to reinstate targeted sanctions on Russian energy supplies, as the current policy gave China “free access” to discounts on LNG from Arctic LNG 2. 

Despite previously imposed sanctions against major Russian oil and gas companies such as LUKOIL, Rosneft, and Novatek, the operator of Arctic LNG 2 continues to sell gas to Chinese buyers at discounts of around 30-40%.

Senators noted that LNG sales revenues amount to billions of dollars for Putin's “war machine” and are critical to limiting the Kremlin's capabilities amid sanctions. 

“This is just the latest example of Donald Trump failing to put pressure on Putin and bring Russia to the negotiating table,” Democratic senators said in a statement.

They stressed that Congress must carefully review any plans to ease sanctions so as not to lose strategic leverage over Russia.

The Gaze previously informed that at the end of August, Russia for the first time delivered LNG from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant directly to the Chinese terminal Beihai LNG, signaling its intent to expand fuel exports to Asia and test the US response to energy sanctions.

The first such shipment, carried by the Arctic Mulan tanker, reflected Moscow's strategy to seek new markets after losing traditional European buyers.

Russia continues to export LNG from the US-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant, seeking to bypass Western restrictions. Since the Biden administration imposed sanctions on the project in 2023, at least ten shipments have been delivered, with eight of them reaching China’s Beihai terminal. 

Previously, shipments were mainly confined to domestic storage facilities in Russia’s Far East, as some importers avoided the risk of US sanctions. Despite rising trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, the US has so far refrained from tightening measures, allowing Russia to continue leveraging its energy exports to circumvent sanctions.

Meanwhile, China is quietly building a “shadow fleet” of tankers to continue importing Russian LNG under US sanctions, using tactics similar to Russia’s so-called “dark fleet.” Satellite data show vessels such as the CCH Gas turning off tracking signals near Chinese ports, while ownership and management of these tankers are registered through opaque offshore entities.

As The Gaze previously informed, China is preparing to let major Russian energy companies raise capital in yuan through so-called “Panda bonds,” in what would be the first such access since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.