“The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, announced the crackdown on Russia’s so-called shadow tanker fleet used to circumvent international sanctions, stating that 44 European nations approved the plan at a meeting of the European Political Community hosted in Britain.
The joint ‘call to action’ – first reported earlier this week by Bloomberg – aims to disrupt the fleet of approximately 600 ships that Western countries claim are used by Russia to transport about 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, according to a statement released yesterday (07/18/2024) by Downing Street. The British government also announced sanctions on 11 tankers that, it said, were used to transport Russian oil.
‘Together with our European partners, we have sent a clear message to those enabling Putin’s efforts to evade sanctions: we will not allow Russia’s shadow fleet and the dirty money it generates to flow freely through European waters and jeopardize our security,’ Starmer said in comments published by his office, after the Prime Minister hosted around 46 European leaders at the summit at Blenheim Palace near Oxford.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend a meeting of Starmer’s cabinet today (07/19/2024) to discuss the measures, making him the first foreign leader to speak in person at the meeting since U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1997, according to the announcement.”
