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5h ago

EU and UK Expand Sanctions on Russia’s Shadow Fleet and Hybrid Threats

New measures target 342 vessels, key individuals, and entities linked to Russia’s war economy and sabotage operations.

A view shows a freight train and cars, following Lithuania's ban of the transit of goods under EU sanctions through the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, in Kaliningrad, Russia June 21, 2022. REUTERS/Vitaly Nevar/File Photo
The latest sanctions target entities supporting Russia's military machine, energy exports and information war,
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas speaks with the media as she arrives for a meeting of EU defense ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
It’s part of a broader effort by the UK and European Union to clamp down on Russia’s use of a so-called shadow fleet to evade sanctions against its oil sector. (File) (Pic used for representation)

Overview

  • The EU approved its 17th sanctions package, blacklisting 189 additional shadow fleet vessels, bringing the total to 342 ships targeted for circumventing oil price caps and sanctions.
  • The UK introduced parallel sanctions, targeting 18 shadow fleet ships, 100 entities and individuals, and supply chains linked to Russia’s military, energy, and financial sectors.
  • For the first time, the EU imposed sanctions under a hybrid-threats framework, addressing sabotage of undersea cables, physical attacks in Estonia, and pro-Russian demonstrations in Europe.
  • Major Russian entities, including oil company Surgutneftegaz and shipping firm VSK, were sanctioned, alongside third-country firms enabling Russia’s shadow fleet operations.
  • The EU and UK emphasized coordinated action to tighten restrictions, disrupt Russia’s war funding, and pressure Moscow toward an unconditional ceasefire.