The head of state reported this on his official Telegram channel following the results of a meeting on sanctions policy.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced new initiatives to impose sanctions aimed at complicating Russia’s ability to wage war against Ukraine. He shared this information following a meeting dedicated to sanction policy and coordination with international partners on implementing restrictive measures against the Kremlin.
Zelensky noted that the new sanctions may include financial instruments, cryptocurrencies, as well as new payment schemes and supply chains for components used in weapons production.
“I have instructed to expand opportunities for parliamentary diplomacy, work with community leaders, and the corporate sector to support new sanction decisions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, intelligence services, and the National Bank must ensure more tangible results of sanction pressure on Russia and its allies.”
The President also emphasized the importance of synchronizing Ukrainian sanctions with the restrictions imposed by international partners.
“The sanction packages of the European Union and other global actors must also be fully confirmed by Ukraine’s national sanction decisions.”
Additionally, Zelensky announced the expansion of sanctions to include captains of vessels belonging to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” and terminals involved in oil shipments.
“These decisions must also be synchronized with our partners. We are documenting cases where the same oil tankers are used by both Russia and Iran to finance the war. We are separately working on imposing sanctions against gas carriers that the Russians plan to use for their projects.”
Sanctions Against Russia’s “Shadow Fleet”
In December 2024, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported that Russia’s “shadow fleet” consists of over a thousand tankers created to circumvent oil sanctions.
On January 10, 2025, the United States imposed sanctions on more than 30 Russian oil service companies, including Gazprom Neft, Surgutneftegas, Ingosstrakh, Alfastrakhuvannya, and Radkomflot.
The sanction lists also included 184 tankers, among them 63 vessels from Sovcomflot and ships from the “shadow fleet” that transported Russian oil. Some of these vessels also carried sanctioned Iranian oil.
On February 24, the EU’s 16th sanction package added several dozen more Russian sanctioned vessels to the list, bringing the total number of restricted ships to 153.
On May 9, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on 101 Russian oil tankers and 9 individuals and legal entities connected to the “shadow fleet.”
On May 20, the EU’s 17th sanction package added another 189 vessels from third countries involved in Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
On June 18, Australia imposed sanctions on 60 vessels of Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
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