LONDON — The British government will expel Russia’s London defense attaché after accusing him of spying for the Kremlin. In a statement in the House of Commons Wednesday, Home Secretary James Cleverly branded the diplomat an “undeclared military intelligence officer” — and said he is being expelled as part of a wider clampdown on “malign activity.” It’s the latest move in a tit-for-tat diplomatic row that saw Russian impose its own restrictions on the U.K. embassy in Moscow. In a release Wednesday, the British government also pointed to a host cyber security breaches attributed to the Russian ..read more

The European Commission is moving to widen Czech sanctions against Voice of Europe, an alleged pro-Russian propaganda network, to be enforced across the European Union. Voice of Europe is listed as one of four entities to be added to the sanctions list as part of the bloc’s 14th sanctions package against Russia, according to a document dated May 3 and seen by POLITICO. The three others are Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti and Russian news outlets Izvestija and Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The news website Voice of Europe as well as Viktor Medvedchuk, an ally of Vladimir Putin, and Artem ..read more

BRUSSELS — For the first time, the European Commission has proposed sanctions on Russia’s powerful liquefied natural gas industry, according to documents seen by POLITICO. The measures wouldn’t directly bar Russian LNG imports to the EU. Instead, they would prevent EU countries from re-exporting Russian LNG after receiving it — confirming POLITICO’s previous reporting. “This provision does not affect imports into the EU,” the proposal stresses. The sanctions would also ban EU involvement in upcoming LNG projects in Russia. “Such a measure limits the expansion of Russia’s LNG capacity and there ..read more

For the first time since Moscow launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine more than two years ago, the EU is expected to aim its sanction bazooka at Russia’s lucrative gas sector. But the proposals on the table would only touch a fraction of the billions Moscow gets annually from liquified natural gas, leaving plenty for its war chest. The European Commission is poised to release a proposed ban on EU ports reselling Moscow LNG as soon as Friday, according to three EU diplomats. The Commission will also ask for restrictions on three upcoming Russian LNG projects, they a ..read more

Elisabeth Braw is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, the author of the award-winning “Goodbye Globalization” and a regular columnist for POLITICO. An ever-growing headache, Russia’s shadow fleet, which operates outside the official maritime sector and features obscure ownership as well as virtually non-existent insurance, is now menacing Gotland — and thus Sweden. Because these vessels aren’t part of any armed forces, there’s little that NATO can do about them. And while Sweden now hopes that EU sanctions might do the trick, this solution will be slow going. So, what to do in the meantim ..read more

The European Commission is considering sanctions against Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to two EU diplomats, a move that would mark the first time Brussels has dared to go after Moscow’s gas sector. The Commission, the EU’s executive, is currently preparing a 14th package of sanctions against Russia more than two years after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine. The new measures could include restrictions on three Russian LNG projects, and on the re-export of Russian LNG from EU ports, the diplomats said. So far, Brussels has imposed a blanket ban on ..read more

Anchal Vohra is a Brussels-based international affairs commentator. She lived in Beirut until recently. The war in Ukraine has exposed the fabled prowess of Russian weaponry as a myth and scared off its leading overseas client. India — the world’s biggest arms importer — is drastically reducing dependence on Russian weapons, and is unlikely to make any new purchases from Russia. Earmarking $100 billion for future procurement, this now leaves a potential opening for Western arms manufacturers. Over the last two decades, India spent $60 billion on weapons from Russia, but according to the latest ..read more

President Joe Biden took to the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal Wednesday to ramp up the pressure on Congress to pass foreign aid legislation that would help bolster Ukrainian and Israeli defenses and deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza. “Now is not the time to abandon our friends. The House must pass urgent national-security legislation for Ukraine and Israel, as well as desperately needed humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza,” Biden wrote in the op-ed, promising that the U.S. would not “write blank checks,” to either country. “We’d send military equipment from our ow ..read more

Ukraine is heading for defeat The West’s failure to send weapons to Kyiv is helping Putin win his war. By JAMIE DETTMER in Kyiv If the tide doesn’t turn soon in this third year of Russia’s invasion, it will be the nation of Ukraine as it currently exists that is consigned to the past. | John Moore /Getty Images Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe. Just ask a Ukrainian soldier if he still believes the West will stand by Kyiv “for as long as it takes.” That pledge rings hollow when it’s been four weeks since your artillery unit last had a shell to fire, as one ser ..read more

LONDON ― In politics, reality rarely matches rhetoric. And the reality is Britain will probably never seize Russia’s money. Plenty of bold words have been bandied about since Russia launched its illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In Britain’s capital — nicknamed “Londongrad” for its reputation as a playground for Russian oligarchs — Cabinet Minister Michael Gove called for the mansions of Russian magnates to be seized to house Ukrainian refugees.  Others suggested taking the Russian assets in Britain’s banks to help fund Ukraine’s defense, or to help rebuild Ukraine after the w ..read more