UK unveils new sanctions on Russian shadow fleet
Britain has imposed sanctions on the banking arm of Russian firm Yandex, two other lenders, dozens of ships accused of exporting Russian oil and gas and a secret military supply network.
The package aims to increase pressure on financial and logistical networks that assist the Kremlin in the war in Ukraine. Rosgosstrakh, one of Russia’s largest insurance companies, was also targeted.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who attended the Group of Seven summit in France, said, “These sanctions target ships, money and actors supporting Russia’s war economy and therefore threaten European security.”
The measures cover more than 20 oil tankers and several liquefied natural gas tankers. Britain said it was the first time a G7 country had imposed sanctions on ships linked to Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project.
Neither the Russian Embassy in London nor Yandex immediately responded to requests for comment.
Russia’s shadow fleet is a network of mostly obsolete ships registered elsewhere that are used to evade Western energy sanctions.
Britain has sanctioned nearly 600 such ships, and on Sunday British commandos boarded and intercepted one of them, an oil tanker, in the English Channel.
The new sanctions also target what Britain describes as “a secret network centered on a firm called Neptune trying to acquire Western technology for Russia’s defense sector.”
Britain said Neptune served as a front for the supply of goods and technology by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.
The package targets individuals identified as GRU operatives, as well as companies operating in Russia and abroad accused of providing defense technology.
with PA
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