Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday threatened to seize ships belonging to European countries in retaliation for plans to sell off cargo seized from Russian "shadow fleet" vessels.
Issued on: 12/08/2026 - 17:52
2 min Reading time
Several European companies have intercepted ships carrying Russian oil in contravention of European Union sanctions targeting the vital revenue source. New sanctions passed last month permit EU members to sell the oil or any other cargo seized from the ships. The latest sanctions package – the twenty-first by the EU since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine – also targets Moscow's financial sector and crypto firms, and blacklists scores more Russian officials over the war. Putin called the move to sell the seized cargo "piracy and banditry". "We will be forced to respond in kind," the Russian president said while overseeing naval drills in Russia's Far East. How Russia’s shadow fleet keeps slipping through Europe’s net Moscow would act "wherever we ourselves deem necessary and appropriate – anywhere," he added. Swedish court documents obtained by French news agency AFP earlier in August showed Stockholm will transfer to Kyiv a seized Russian ship suspected of transporting grain from occupied Ukraine. France, Belgium, Finland and other European countries have also recently seized sanction-busting vessels believed to belong to Russia's "shadow fleet". US-brokered talks stalled Tensions are high, amid accusations from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Russia was preparing to deploy more North Korean troops in the war and had received new ballistic missiles from Pyongyang. Buoyed by European support, Kyiv is banking on its long-range strike campaign to tip Russia's economy and society over the edge. Its attacks triggered a nationwide fuel crisis over the summer, and have forced Moscow-installed authorities to put the annexed Crimean peninsula under a local "state of emergency". Dark vessels: how Russia steers clear of Western sanctions with a shadow fleet Russia has upped its missile attacks on Kyiv, killing dozens there in recent weeks. It has also brought Ukrainian exports through the Black Sea to a standstill through a campaign of port and ship strikes. Meanwhile, United States-brokered direct talks between Russia and Ukraine have broken down, chiefly over the issue of territory. Ukraine refuses to cede land it still controls and wants an immediate ceasefire along the current front line, with territorial status to be decided during wider peace talks. Russia demands territory alongside political and military concessions that Ukraine rejects as capitulation. (with AFP)
