Vladimir Putin on Thursday issued a decree that transfers the control over a large oil and gas project on Sakhalin island in Russia to the Kremlin in one of the decisions aimed at weakening the impact of Western sanctions that have been placed oN the Russian economy because of its aggressive war effort against Ukraine.

The Kremlin Press Secretary published a widely unexpected statement on Putin’s decision. The Kremlin’s statement explained the move as a rapid response to emergencies that threaten the life and safety of the Russian people while also attacking national interests and the country’s general economic security.

The decree has empowered the government to take over the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project with state-owned Gazprom keeping the entirety of its stake in the company but other companies with a stake must apply directly to the Russian government for a stake in the new firm overseeing the project in the next month or forget about their collective investments.

International Oil corporation Shell currently has a stake in the company along with Mitsui and Mitsubishi, though Shell had announced previously that in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, they were withdrawing their 27.5% stake in the oil and gas exploration venture.

The news of the seizure of the project was released after a report recently revealed that the Russian economy is suffering from the current sanctions imposed on the Russian state since their invasion of Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service recently published statistical evidence that production has dropped massively across all Russian sectors and retail confidence is on an all-time low.

However, even as the economy suffers from war-related sanctions, reports indicate that President Putin is still able to fund his ongoing war through combined profits from oil and gas exports.

Featured image source: Radio Free Europe