UK intercepts Russian shadow fleet vessel in Channel: ministry

Article excerpt

British forces seized a sanctioned Russian oil tanker in the English Channel on Sunday after a six-hour operation, the defence ministry announced. The vessel belonged to Russia's shadow fleet, a network of aging ships used to evade Western sanctions on Russian oil exports. Kyiv praised the interception as a blow against Moscow's ability to fund its war in Ukraine. The operation marks an escalation in British efforts to disrupt Russian energy revenues at sea, targeting the indirect supply chains that allow Moscow to circumvent international penalties.