President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree enacting a decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) to impose sanctions against 91 maritime vessels that are part of Russia’s shadow fleet.
This was reported by the press service of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
“President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree enacting the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on the application of sanctions against 91 maritime vessels that are part of Russia’s shadow fleet,” the statement reads.
The Office of the President noted that Russia used these vessels to transport oil and petroleum products from Russian ports — in particular Novorossiysk, Ust-Luga, and Primorsk — to third countries. It emphasized that this was done in circumvention of sanctions imposed by the European Union, the Group of Seven (G7), and other states, as confirmed by monitoring results in the Black, Red, and Baltic Seas.
It was also reported that the sanctioned vessels sailed under the flags of around 20 countries. Only one vessel sailed under the Russian flag; the others flew the flags of Panama, Liberia, Cameroon, Barbados, the Marshall Islands, Hong Kong, Sierra Leone, Tonga, Palau, Guinea, the Comoros, the Bahamas, Indonesia, Malawi, Guinea-Bissau, Djibouti, Guyana, and Eswatini.
“Ukraine will provide the relevant information to these states and will also work with partners on further synchronization of sanctions within their jurisdictions. Twenty-seven vessels from this list are already under sanctions imposed by partners — the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the European Union. Work on imposing sanctions against the remaining 64 vessels will continue,” the publication states.
The Office of the President emphasized that imposing sanctions on the shadow fleet is a priority, as it enables pressure on all those transporting Russian oil and thereby helping Russia obtain funds to finance its war against Ukraine.
“Shadow fleet tankers are a key instrument for circumventing oil sanctions; therefore, their identification and the imposition of sanctions against them must take place swiftly and without exceptions. Each such vessel should be regarded as an element financing Russia’s war machine,” said Presidential Sanctions Policy Commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk.
Decree No. 121/2026 “On the Decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine of February 12, 2026 ‘On the Application of Personal Special Economic and Other Restrictive Measures (Sanctions)’” has also been published on the website of the Office of the President.
The document enters into force on the day of its publication.
