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Ukraine Sanctions 91 Russian Shadow Fleet Vessels Over Oil Smuggling
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree enacting the National Security and Defense Council's decision to sanction 91 maritime vessels identified as part of Russia’s shadow fleet, according to the official website of the President of Ukraine on February 13.
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According to activity recorded in the Black, Red, and Baltic Seas, these ships were used to transport Russian oil and petroleum products from ports in Novorossiysk, Ust-Luga, and Primorsk to third countries, bypassing sanctions established by the European Union, the G7, and other international partners.
The sanctioned vessels operated under the flags of approximately 20 nations. While only one ship flew a Russian flag, others were registered in jurisdictions including Panama, Liberia, Cameroon, Barbados, the Marshall Islands, Hong Kong, Sierra Leone, Tonga, Palau, Guinea, Comoros, the Bahamas, Indonesia, Malawi, Guinea-Bissau, Djibouti, Guyana, and Eswatini.
Ukraine will provide relevant data to these countries and coordinate with international partners to synchronize sanctions within their respective jurisdictions. Currently, 27 of the identified vessels are already under sanctions by the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the EU. Effords to apply similar measures to the remaining 64 vessels are ongoing.
The Ukrainian government stated that targeting the shadow fleet is a priority to reduce the revenues used by Russia to fund its military operations.
"Shadow fleet tankers are a key tool for circumventing oil sanctions, so their identification and the imposition of sanctions against them must happen quickly and without exceptions. Every such vessel should be considered an element of financing the Russian war machine," said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Presidential Advisor on Sanctions Policy.
Earlier, Russia prepared send "humanitarian" oil to Cuba despite threats from US President Donald Trump to penalize the island's fuel suppliers. Analysts warned the move risked further straining Moscow's relations with Washington and could lead to the interception of Russian tankers.
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