Russia's shadow fleet will be hit with the largest ever sanctions
package today, ramping up pressure on Putin and protecting UK and
European critical national infrastructure.
The Government will today sanction up to 100 oil tankers that
form a core part of Putin's shadow fleet operation and are
responsible for carrying more than $24 billion worth of cargo
since the start of 2024.
It is the latest move by the Government to safeguard working
people, protect the UK's national security and deliver on the
foundations of the Plan for Change.
The shadow fleet operation, masterminded by Putin's cronies, is
not just bankrolling the Kremlin's illegal war in Ukraine - the
fleet's languishing vessels are known to be damaging critical
national infrastructure through reckless seafaring in
Europe.
Protecting subsea infrastructure from malicious and careless
incidents is expected to be a key part of Leaders' discussions at
the Joint Expeditionary Force summit in Oslo today.
It comes after the JEF activated an advanced UK-led reaction
system, known as Nordic Warden in January, to track potential
threats to undersea infrastructure and monitor the Russian shadow
fleet, following reported damage to a major undersea cable in the
Baltic Sea. 22 areas of interest – including parts of the
English Channel, North Sea, Kattegat, and Baltic, are currently
being monitored from the JEF's operational headquarters in
Northwood, UK.
Subsea infrastructure is the lifeblood of the UK's connectivity,
carrying 99% of international telecommunications data, and vital
energy supplies such as electricity, oil and gas.
The infrastructure is at risk of being disrupted by unseaworthy
vessels lacking safety certification, the right technology to
avoid the infrastructure, or purposefully disabling locator
technology.
Alongside the large number of shadow fleet tankers targeted
today, the UK is also expected to disrupt those behind the shadow
fleet.
Today's action further demonstrates that there is no place to
hide for those who help fund Putin's war machine.
Prime Minister said:
“Every step we take to increase pressure on Russia and achieve a
just and sustainable peace in Ukraine is another step towards
security and prosperity in the UK.
“The threat from Russia to our national security cannot be
underestimated, that is why we will do everything in our power to
destroy his shadow fleet operation, starve his war machine of oil
revenues and protect the subsea infrastructure that we rely on
for our everyday lives.
“My government will safeguard working people from paying the
price from the costly threat Putin's fleet poses to UK critical
national infrastructure and the environment.”
Putin uses the shadow fleet to cling onto his oil revenues and
prop up the Russian oil industry. Thanks to Western
sanctions, Russia's oil and gas revenues have fallen every year
since 2022 – losing over a third of its value in three years.
Sanctions and the cost of his barbaric war are causing the
Russian economy to stall – with the wealth fund hollowed out,
inflation rising and government spend on defence and security
spiralling.
Meanwhile, JEF leaders are today expected to announce an enhanced
JEF partnership with Ukraine, bringing the JEF grouping – some of
Ukraine's staunchest supporters – and Ukraine even closer
together.
This will further support Ukrainian Armed Forces through
intensive training exercises, increasing interoperability across
military platforms and enhancing countering disinformation
support as well as allowing JEF Nations to learn from
the battlefield experience of Ukraine's armed forces.
Today's meeting in Oslo is the second visit by the Prime Minister
to Norway, after he travelled to Bergen in December to launch a
new Green Industrial Partnership with Norway, which was signed by
Energy Secretary earlier this week.
The UK and Norway are also expected to agree a new memorandum of
understanding on space domain awareness today, to harness
opportunities and protect critical national infrastructure in the
skies, through tracking and sharing intelligence on satellites,
space debris and other objects flying above Earth.
The agreement will allow the UK and Norway to advance and develop
greater coverage of the increasingly congested and contested
domain.
The UK has ambitious plans in space, with the first space
launches from SaxaVord in the Shetland Islands scheduled later
this year.
The Joint Expeditionary Force is comprised of 10 like-minded
nations, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania,
Norway, Netherlands, Sweden and the UK as the Framework
Nation.
Notes to editors
Nordic Warden harnesses AI to assess data from a range of
sources, including the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
ships use to broadcast their position, to calculate the risk
posed by each vessel entering areas of interest.
Specific designations will be announced by the FCDO at 10am
today.
