Overview
- President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Decree No. 929/2025 on Dec. 13, enacting sanctions described as covering nearly 700 vessels with 656 listed by name.
- The measures target tankers and other ships that move Russian oil and energy products, which Ukraine says fund the war, marking its largest package aimed at vessels.
- Many of the ships sail under flags from more than 50 jurisdictions, most frequently Gambia, Sierra Leone, Panama, and Cameroon, with Kyiv transferring case files to those states.
- Ukraine plans coordination to synchronize actions with partners, noting that a significant share of the listed vessels already face sanctions by the U.S., U.K., EU, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
- Monitoring in the Black, Red, and Baltic Seas documented sanction-evasion tactics such as AIS shutoffs and concealed ownership, with Russia’s shadow fleet estimated at over 1,240 tankers.