Sanctions against Russian tankers may enter the phase of direct countermeasures, — Vlasyuk

Ukraine calls on partners to significantly strengthen sanctions against tankers of the Russian “shadow fleet”.

Ukraine is initiating strengthening of sanctions against the Russian “shadow fleet”, and partner countries may even consider mechanisms for physically blocking such vessels. This was stated by the Presidential Plenipotentiary Advisor on Sanctions Policy Vladislav Vlasyuk in a comment to Informator.

According to him, the current sanctions have already significantly affected the Russian economy. In particular, Russia’s trade turnover with the EU countries has decreased by approximately 70%, and oil and gas revenues have fallen to the lowest levels since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Their oil and gas revenues have returned to a historic low. These are significant losses, and we want them to continue to decrease,” Vlasyuk noted.

One of the key areas of tightening restrictions, according to the official, will be the fight against the shadow fleet of the Russian Federation, which is used to export Russian oil in circumvention of international sanctions.

This is not only about including the tankers themselves in the sanctions lists, but also about restrictions on the entire infrastructure that serves them – that is, ports, insurance companies, enterprises and service structures.

“Everyone who works with the toxic Russian shadow fleet must be aware of the risk of sanctions,” Vlasyuk emphasized.

He also noted that the most effective tool could be physical countermeasures against such vessels. According to him, some steps have already been taken by Ukraine’s partners, in particular France. It is expected that the issue of further actions may be discussed at international security forums in the near future.

The presidential advisor also announced a reduction in the share of Western components in Russian weapons. According to him, experts have recorded a decrease in the number of components from the EU, the USA and Japan in weapons samples.

At the same time, Russia remains dependent on imported parts, in particular Chinese-made ones. This, according to Vlasyuk, allows the Russian Federation to maintain a high rate of production of Shahed drones and cruise missiles.

Ukraine is also waiting for the adoption of the 20th package of sanctions by the European Union, which may provide for additional restrictions on Russian companies and structures in third countries that help Moscow circumvent sanctions.

According to Vlasyuk, sanctions policy remains one of the key tools for pressure on the Russian Federation, and Kyiv will continue to work on its strengthening together with international partners.