Partisans obtain secret Russian boat docs: Escorting shadow oil fleet
Photo: Black Sea Fleet boats escort the shadow fleet with Russian oil (Getty Images)
Ukrainian partisans obtained classified documents of the Russian Black Sea Fleet about the combat duty of boats escorting the enemy's shadow fleet carrying oil, the partisan movement Atesh reports.
According to the organization, the documents contain routes of the boats, crew change schedules, hull numbers, and names of commanders. The escort of the shadow fleet is handled by units of the 26th Separate Special Purpose Detachment.
The partisans emphasized that they have long been monitoring the Russian fleet network in Crimea. This time, a vulnerability was found in the systems of one of the units in Sevastopol.
"Access to internal document circulation was provided by our agent, and the download was completed within minutes, while the commanders were drinking tea and discussing how much fleet they would ultimately have left," the statement says.
The partisans also stressed that the Russian Black Sea Fleet is not about control of the sea but about cowardice disguised by radio silence and false reports.
The agents warned that they know where and when the escort fleet sets out and have already passed this information to those who know how to effectively destroy the targets.
Russia's shadow fleet
Russia's shadow oil fleet is an unofficial network of civilian vessels that Russia uses to export oil bypassing international sanctions. These tankers often change flags, turn off identification systems, hide routes and final destinations, and also conduct oil transshipment in neutral waters.
According to an investigation by the Financial Times, Moscow assembled a shadow fleet of over 400 vessels. Currently, they carry about 4 million barrels per day and generate billions of dollars annually.
To acquire vessels, Russia uses corporate offshore structures. This means Western governments find it difficult to determine who owns the tankers, who bought them, or who controls the operations. Read more in the RBC-Ukraine material on the topic.
Meanwhile, several European Union countries have announced they will develop regulations for handling the so-called Russian shadow fleet vessels in the Baltic Sea.
Also, Europe earlier revealed the scale of shadow oil shipments bypassing sanctions.
