Tory leader says Starmer should be ashamed of decision to allow imports of diesel and jet fuel derived from Russian crude
Dominic Penna Senior Political Correspondent.
Genevieve Holl-Allen Political Correspondent.
Joe BarnesBrussels Correspondent
Published 20 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch has accused Sir Keir Starmer of funding “the killing of Ukrainian soldiers” by easing sanctions on Russian oil.
The Prime Minister has allowed some imports of diesel and jet fuel derived from Russian crude into the UK following a surge in prices because of the war in Iran.
In a blistering exchange at Prime Minister’s Questions, Mrs Badenoch said Sir Keir should be “ashamed” for “choosing to buy dirty Russian oil, that money will be used to fund the killing of Ukrainian soldiers”.
Sir Keir insisted he had issued “two targeted short-term licences” for Russia, to phase in new, tougher sanctions on Moscow.
But the Tory leader accused him of “giving money to Russia” and helping to fund Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
Sir Keir responded: “There are new bans on refined oil products from Russia, as of yesterday. They are being phased in in the same way that previous sanctions regimes have been phased in, exactly in the way the last government did, and we have done.”
Gulf refineries supplied up to 65 per cent of UK jet fuel before the war, with the fuel travelling through the Strait of Hormuz. Since the conflict started at the end of February, jet fuel prices have increased by 103 per cent to about $150 (£112) per barrel.
Ukraine has not officially responded to the change in British policy but The Telegraph understands that Volodymyr Zelensky plans to address the issue in a statement.
This week, Ryanair was preparing for an “Armageddon situation” of global jet fuel shortages even as the low-cost airline insisted its summer flights would go ahead.
Willie Walsh, the head of the International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines, warned that higher ticket prices for air travel in Europe were “inevitable”.
Some airlines have cut their European fares recently because of a lack of demand, but Mr Walsh said that carriers would not be able to absorb the extra costs over time.
He added that even if the Strait of Hormuz were to reopen, the damage to refining facilities in the Gulf and the disruption to crude oil supplies would mean that fuel prices would probably still stay elevated.
Sharing The Telegraph’s report on the sanctions on X, Boris Johnson, the former Tory prime minister, said:
The Kremlin will I am afraid be laughing today at the incompetence and stupidity of the Starmer government. This is a betrayal of Ukraine – and will do nothing to help British consumers.
Dame Emily Thornberry, the Labour chairman of the foreign affairs committee, accused Sir Keir of “letting down” the Ukrainian people.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I have heard from people in Ukraine overnight and I know that they are very disappointed and are asking me why it is Britain is doing this.”
Dame Emily added: “People feel very let down… Just because other countries are behaving in the wrong way does not mean that we should join them. It really doesn’t. We are Britain, one of Ukraine’s strongest allies, and we have led the fight against Russia.”
‘Cynical but understandable’
John Foreman, a former British defence attaché to Kyiv and Moscow, called the decision “cynical but understandable”. He told the Kyiv Independent: “It is hard to pose as the leader of the ‘coalition of the willing’ when doing dirty deals. Starmer has always maintained a very high moral tone, which this undercuts.”
Sir Keir has also come under fire over the failure of British special forces to board and capture Russian shadow fleet ships entering UK waters.
In the week after the Prime Minister signed off on new powers, about a dozen sanctioned Russian tankers were believed to have defied the Government by passing through the English Channel.
In March, the Government warned that Donald Trump’s decision to issue exemptions for Moscow’s oil already at sea risked helping the Russian economy.
The licence, however, confirmed that exemptions would be made for diesel and jet fuel made from Russian oil if “the products have been made in a third country”.
A separate licence issued by the Department for Business and Trade will permit the sea transport of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG can now be transported by ship from Sakhalin-2 and Yamal, two terminals in Russia.
In March, the Prime Minister’s spokesman insisted that the Government’s view on Russian oil had not changed despite the White House shifting position, saying Britain remained committed to “exerting maximum economic pressure on Russia”.
On Wednesday, a Treasury minister defended the decision to relax sanctions and said the “economic interests” of British households had to take priority.
Dan Tomlinson, the exchequer secretary, told Sky News: “When there are international conflicts … what we have to do as a Government is make sure that we’re protecting the UK national interest, that we’re protecting individual families and looking after their finances.”
Readers have their say
Adam Wheeler
Apparently, the causes of climate change only arise from oil drilled in the UK. Or is this just virtue signalling on an unprecedented scale? Seems to be immature student politics.
David Pearce
Ja Ho
Baffled. So we’ll tolerate oil from a war tyrant but we won’t tolerate it being pumped out of the North Sea?!
Adam Wheeler
Apparently, the causes of climate change only arise from oil drilled in the UK. Or is this just virtue signalling on an unprecedented scale? Seems to be immature student politics.
Reply270
David Pearce
Replies (1)270
Suffolk Farmer
D’oh! So Milliband can block all our North Sea drilling for oil and gas to fulfil his pipe dream for net zero, but we can lift sanctions on oil imports to support a war. Who are you supporting Starmer? What a strategy that is!
Reply280
Ja Ho
Baffled. So we’ll tolerate oil from a war tyrant but we won’t tolerate it being pumped out of the North Sea?!
Replies (10)8151
gareth green
Or we could have our own oil drawn from wells on our own sovereign territory. But no. We can’t because of the insanity of so called net zero.
Replies (1)350
DS Torr
……
Mr Tomlinson was then challenged on whether the Government was prioritising the cost of living crisis over standing up to Putin.
He responded: “No, not at all. What I’m saying is that always the UK Government’s focus has to be individual Brits living here in this country, their economic interests, the interest of our country and our national security.”
On Tuesday, figures showed that diesel prices had risen 43.5p since the end of February in a further blow to motorists.
Oil prices have surged more than 55 per cent since the start of the war in Iran, with about one fifth of oil and gas exports usually passing through the strait during peacetime.
The Foreign Office insisted that a range of other measures meant that Britain’s overall sanctions regime on Russia, which has been in place since 2022, remained tough.
A government spokesman said: “We are committed to strengthening our sanctions on Russia to degrade its ability to wage war in Ukraine, whilst protecting critical supply chains and maintaining market stability.”
Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, is pressuring supermarkets to cap food prices in an attempt to limit inflation unleashed by the Iran war.
Ms Reeves has asked grocers to cap how much they charge shoppers for staple items such as bread, eggs and milk, in return for loosening red tape.
The proposal, however, has angered many across the retail sector, who claimed it was a “desperate” attempt to tackle the cost of living crisis and said it marked a return to the “failed policies of the 1970s”.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/05/20/starmer-eases-sanctions-on-russian-oil/
Comment from :
M Bilewycz
Starmer has been well and truly shown up as a charlatan.
Miliband should also be worried about his future.
And I can see Farage being dragged in because of his Putinist sympathies, only recently flagged up by his party’s ban on Ukrainian flags in Essex County Council buildings – justified by a tissue of lies.
Keep it up Kemi.
colin wagman
Let me understand this :
•We put sanctions on Russia because they started a war with Ukraine
• we restricted drilling our own oil from the North Sea to help the environment
• we stepped down on our Russian sanctions to restrict imports of Russian oil but
• we maintain our policy on restricting oil drilling in the North Sea
No one in government has given me an explanation for this that I understand . Am I alone in feeling utterly bewildered?
Can someone explain it to me?
Mark Stevens
So we betray the Ukrainian people support invasion and occupation and likely cultural genocide. Betray the British people and ignore democracy but it’s all in our best interest. Then for good measure stab our armed forces in the back by prosecuting individuals.
When elections happen you blame the people.
I think there should be a complete overhaul of politics in this country.
John Walker
Milliband and Starmer would rather spend billions of our taxes on other peoples oil and kill Ukrainian soldiers than drill in the North Sea. They are both a disgrace with no shame.
lecrust
Is this part of the UK’s 100 year partnership with Ukraine that Starmer announced or maybe the security guarantees under the Budapest memorandum. What a sick joke. This country stands for nothing, it’s shameful.
Frank Bebbington
The Russian economy is really struggling, The attacks by Ukraine on their ability to export oil is creating real problems. This is not the time to relax sanctions but to tighten them. What a chuffing dimwit we have as a leader.
Richard Diamond
This is why NATO is dead. The UK waives the white flag again and again to aggressors and terrorists. Can anyone surrender as quickly as the current Labor government?