The UK government says its tougher approach to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet is beginning to bite, after reports that a Russian warship has been escorting sanctioned tankers through the English Channel.
Defence secretary John Healey said that if Putin feels the need to send a warship to protect vessels moving through the Channel, that is a sign the government’s policy is having an effect. He argued that sanctions and warnings that shadow fleet vessels may be boarded are making it harder for Russia to sell oil and fund its war in Ukraine.
In interviews on Thursday morning, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper declined to confirm the reports that a Russian warship had been shadowing two sanctioned Russian ships through British waters. She said the government had now given permission for action to be taken against the Russian shadow fleet, but stressed that operational decisions would then need to be made in the proper way by the military.
“What I can tell you is that we have given permission now for action to be taken against the Russian shadow fleet. Operational decisions then have to be taken in the right way by the military,” Cooper said.
The reports come against a wider backdrop of concern in the UK and across Europe about Russian activity at sea and more broadly. Cooper said there were signs not only of the way the Russian shadow fleet is operating, but also of increased Russian threats beyond the UK itself.
Sanctioned Russian ships are used to carry oil that helps fund the war in Ukraine. The UK government recently announced that the armed forces have been authorised to board such vessels in British waters in an effort to stop them.
Healey’s comments suggest ministers see the reported escort as evidence that Moscow is responding to the pressure. If a Russian naval vessel is being used to accompany commercial ships carrying sanctioned oil, he implied, that points to the impact of the UK’s sanctions and enforcement posture.
The issue sits within a broader effort by Western governments to disrupt the movement of Russian oil and limit the revenues feeding the Kremlin’s war effort. The shadow fleet, made up of vessels used to avoid sanctions, has become an important focus for governments trying to constrain those flows.
Cooper did not confirm the specific details of the reports, but her remarks underlined that the UK has now authorised action against the shadow fleet and that any intervention would be handled through military decision-making. The government is presenting the move as part of a wider response to what it sees as growing Russian pressure and risk across Europe.
Healey’s assessment was more direct: if Russia is having to deploy military protection for sanctioned tankers in the Channel, he said, then UK policy is clearly having an impact.
