Great Britain intercepted a tanker from the “shadow fleet” of the aggressor country Russia, which was trying to pass through the English Channel on June 14. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced this on social network X.
Starmer stressed that he had instructed the British armed forces to detain the ship.
“This successful operation deals another blow to Russia and reminds those who fuel the war [нелегитимного президента РФ Владимира] Putin in Ukraine, that we will not allow them to hide. “I want to thank everyone involved, including our military and law enforcement agencies, who keep this country safe 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” the prime minister wrote.
The press service of the British government clarified that this was the first time that the UK had carried out such an interception. The military operation lasted six hours and involved aircraft from the Naval Air Group (Chinooks, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat), an RAF P-8 aircraft, and the warships HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury.
“The tanker Smyrtos will be temporarily moved to an anchorage off the south coast of England and assessed for environmental or safety issues,” the government said.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper also commented on the event. She noted that the interception occurred “as part of the work to stop the flow of funds that finance missiles, drones and shelling of Ukrainian cities.”
“These illegal vessels exist to transport sanctioned Russian oil and gas around the world to keep money flowing into Putin's war machine. We are taking action against this illegal activity in our waters,” she said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga responded to Cooper’s post. He thanked “UK for its leadership and decisive action.”
Russia's “shadow fleet” is an instrument of war. Each such ship that is stopped means less money for the Russian war machine. Cutting off these revenues helps reduce Russia's ability to finance missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities. We must continue to increase pressure and close every loophole that allows Russia to finance its aggression,” the diplomat wrote.
