EU to impose sanctions against vessels that aid Russia’s shadow fleet for first time

The European Commission has proposed the 21st package of sanctions against Russia, which for the first time targets vessels that aid the “shadow fleet.”

The package was presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrinform reports.

“Every day we wake up to the same news — another major Russian strike on a Ukrainian city, deliberately targeting civilians. We also wake up to news about drones violating European airspace — over the Baltic countries, along our eastern borders. Two weeks ago, a drone crashed into an apartment building in Romania. Another one exploded in the port of Constanta just last week,” von der Leyen commented.

She noted that European sanctions are working: Russia’s energy revenues fell by about 40% by the beginning of 2026, hundreds of vessels from the “shadow fleet” have become targets of sanctions. Export controls deprive Russia’s defense industry of critical technologies and components.

In the 21st package of sanctions, the EU will focus on the sectors with the greatest impact, namely energy, financial services and cryptocurrency trading, and for the first time on fisheries.

At the same time, the EU will continue to fight the “shadow fleet”. Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Commission is proposing to add 30 more vessels to the sanctions list in addition to the 632 already restricted.

“For the first time, we are also targeting vessels that support the shadow fleet, for example by providing bunkering and other services. And we are proposing to target critical infrastructure such as ports, airports or refineries that trade or process Russian oil. Finally, we are proposing to restrict the sale of LNG tankers to Russia, as we have already done for oil tankers,” she commented.

Also this time, the EU is focusing on one of the last major non-sanctioned sectors, namely fisheries.

“We are proposing significant restrictions on imports of some fish products. And a complete ban on others, including cod. And we will agree on trade restrictions for Belarus so that it cannot serve as a loophole for Russian trade,” von der Leyen stressed.

Earlier, USM reported that the EU plans to include Lukoil and Rosneft in the 21st sanctions package.