May 8 (UPI) — Britain will sanction a Russian shadow fleet of up to 100 tankers on Friday, as European leaders gather in Oslo for a military meeting where they will seek to exert extra pressure on Moscow’s economy to further empty its war chest.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to announce the sanctions against the tankers at the Joint Expeditionary Force meeting that London said are the core of President Vladimir Putin’s shadow fleet, which has carried more than $24 billion worth of cargo since the start of 2024. Starmer is also expected to announce punitive measures against those who operate the ships.
“Every step we take to increase pressure on Russia and achieve a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine is another step towards security and prosperity in the UK,” Starmer said in a statement.
According to a recent report from the Washington-based Brookings Institution think tank, Russia has substantially expanded its shadow fleet of oil tankers amid its war in Ukraine, with more than 40% of new ships coming from sellers in the European Union, particularly Greece.
Moscow’s fleet of tankers has grown from fewer than 100 vessels in February, 2022 to 343 as of April 25 when the report was published — a rate of seven ships per month over the last three years.
Starmer’s office said the sanctions not only seek to target Russia’s ability to continue its war in Ukraine, but also the aging fleet’s destruction of critical national infrastructure and the environment — a topic that is also expected to take center stage during the two-day security coalition meeting of 10 northern European countries.
In January, the JEF activated Nordic Warden to track and protect critical undersea infrastructure from suspicious vessels, after an under water cable connecting Estonia and Finland was severed in late December, and a 135-mile Internet link between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island was damaged along with another line connecting Finland and Germany the month prior.
“Subsea infrastructure is the lifeblood of the UK’s connectivity,” 10 Downing Street said, as it carries 99% of international telecommunications data as well as energy supplies, such as electricity, oil and gas.
This shadow fleet of allegedly unseaworthy vessels that lack safety certification and proper infrastructure-detection technology puts that at risk, it said.
“The threat from Russia to our national security cannot be underestimated, that is why we will do everything in our power to destroy his shadow fleet operation, starve his war machine of oil revenues and protect the subsea infrastructure that we rely on for our everyday lives,” Starmer continued.
More than 21,600 sanctions have been imposed on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, which has greatly affected its economy and Moscow’s armory, forcing it to make arms deals with Iran and North Korea, the latter of which has also provided the Kremlin with thousands of troops.
The military leaders of the JEF are meeting Friday and Saturday in Norway where they are expected to deepen their partnership with Ukraine at a time when the United States appears to be drifting away as President Donald Trump seeks a quick end to the war.
According to 10 Downing Street, the JEF nations will further support Ukraine with training exercises, and by increasing interoperability across military platforms and enhancing efforts to counter disinformation. In turn, the JEF is expected to learn from Ukraine’s battlefield experience.
