Shadow fleet crackdown: Ukraine and EU plan oil confiscations
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (photo: Getty Images)
Ukraine, together with the European Union, is working on legislative changes that will allow the confiscation of Russian and Iranian oil from vessels of the shadow fleet, states President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Read also: US seizes Russian shadow fleet tanker in Indian Ocean
According to Zelenskyy, the focus is on establishing legal mechanisms that would be applied after such tankers are stopped.
The head of state emphasized that this should become part of a systematic response to Russia’s attempts to circumvent sanctions through illegal oil shipments.
Earlier, he welcomed the detention of a Russian shadow fleet tanker by European countries and called not only for blocking such vessels but also for confiscating the oil they transport in the interest of European security.
This refers specifically to France’s detention of a sanctions-evading vessel carrying Russian oil that was sailing under the flag of another country. The tanker was spotted in the Mediterranean Sea; the operation took place several days ago.
“This tanker is already under sanctions by Ukraine, already under sanctions by Britain, the European Union, and America. Yet the Russians are still using it. It systematically transports not only Russian oil but also Iranian oil,” Zelenskyy said.
The president also called Russia and Iran allies and urged even greater pressure on Moscow.
Russia’s shadow fleet is a network of vessels used by Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions and export oil, allowing it to continue financing the war against Ukraine.
The other day, Ukrainian intelligence reported that the Kremlin plans to increase the number of oil tankers in the shadow fleet.
Earlier in March, Zelenskyy proposed that the EU confiscate shadow fleet tankers in the interest of European security. This came after Belgium detained one such tanker.
