UK intercepts Russian shadow fleet vessel in Channel: defence ministry

British forces on Sunday intercepted a sanctioned oil tanker belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet in the English Channel, the defence ministry said, in a six-hour operation hailed by Kyiv. Navy commandos boarded the ship under cover of darkness by fast-roping from a helicopter in the dark, according to footage released by the ministry. The interception in the early hours was supported by Chinook, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat helicopters and a maritime patrol aircraft, a statement said. The frigate HMS Sutherland and the minehunter HMS Ledbury were also involved. “In the first UK-led operation of its kind, the vessel Smyrtos was boarded by Royal Marine Commandos and specially trained law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency, despite Russia’s best efforts to evade sanctions and continue fuelling its barbaric war with Ukraine,” the ministry statement said. The vessel will now be moved to an anchorage off the south coast of England and monitored, it added. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga welcomed the operation. “Russia’s shadow fleet is a tool of war. Every such vessel stopped means less money for Russia’s war machine,” he posted on social media. “Cutting off these revenues helps reduce Russia’s ability to finance missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities.” “Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund their conflict in Ukraine and our interdiction delivers a blow to Putin’s illegal war,” said newly appointed UK Defence Minister Dan Jarvis. He said the operation was carried out in “close coordination with the French”. ‘Hybrid war’ The UK has sanctioned hundreds of vessels suspected of being part of the shadow fleet used by Russia to bypass Western embargoes since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The ships — usually ageing tankers with dubious ownership — are banned from accessing UK ports and services. Jarvis said disrupting the shadow fleet was “directly bearing down on the resources sustaining Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and reducing its capac