"US Gambit: Slashing Russia's Oil Profits to Undercut Putin's War in Ukraine"
The West implemented a price cap on Russian oil in an effort to weaken Putin's war efforts in Ukraine. The strategy aims to limit the price of seaborne Russian oil at $60 per barrel for transactions using Western shipping, finance, and insurance services. While the cap initially cut into Russian government revenue, Putin has been successful in evading the cap through the development of a "shadow fleet" and pressuring independent shippers. The effectiveness of the cap is debated, with concerns about evasion and the ongoing war in Ukraine. The debate continues on whether harsher measures or a different approach would have been more effective.