Putin has responded to sanctions by Western countries and its allies such as Japan by imposing roadblocks on Western companies trying to leave Russia, even seizing their assets in some cases. The Russian leader signed and published a decree yesterday that immediately banned investors from countries that supported sanctions on Russia from selling their assets to a number of different partnerships. These include production sharing agreements (PSAs), banks, strategic players, energy equipment companies, as well as in other projects, from oil and gas production to coal and nickel. Under the decree, Putin could allow certain exit deals to take place by issuing a special exemption, and the government and central bank would have to prepare a list of banks for Kremlin approval. This decree is a major blow, as it prevents foreign investors in almost all major financial and energy projects from selling their stakes, including the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project. On Thursday, Rosneft, a Russian state oil company, blamed US giant Exxon Mobil for falling production at the Sakhalin-1 oil fields after the company announced it would transfer its 30% stake “to another party”. Rosneft noted that since May 6, no oil tankers have left the De Kastri marine terminal in the Far East oil projects. He also added that in recent months, Sakhalin-1 has produced almost no oil. READ MORE: Ofgem criticized for ‘inhumane’ plan to increase energy bills every 3 months Even in the past month, Moscow has tightened controls on natural gas flowing to Europe, with many fearing a complete shutdown by this winter. Earlier this year, Putin issued an order requiring “unfriendly” countries to pay for natural gas in rubles created by a Russian bank. Russia has currently cut off gas supplies to Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands because they refused to pay in rubles. Most recently, Russia cut off supplies to Latvia for allegedly breaking a contract with Russian gas company Gazprom.