No force in the world could stop this trade. The profits are just too great. The price of crude in the West is roughly $100 US per barrel. The price of Russian crude to "friendly" buyers is $24 US per barrel. Unfriendly buyers have to pay the full Western price. You can fill a tanker, sell it in the West as discounted "no questions asked" oil at 50% off of the official price, for an instant sale, and still double your product investment on every single shipment. The average oil tanker carries 500,000 barrels of oil. You make a $13 million profit on each shipment. If you can pass it off as legit western oil, you make a $38 million dollar profit on each shipment. The first shipment alone pays for the ship, all expenses, and still has money left over. A used Afrimax oil tanker costs about $20 mil, but you can get a rusty one for $12 mil if you shop around:) Every oil trader in the world is jumping into this. The US called India and told them not to buy anymore of this discount Russian oil. I believe India laughed really hard when they heard that. I suspect now they are not even picking up the phone.