Ukraine called on the UN Security Council to tighten sanctions against Russia's shadow fleet

During a meeting of the UN Security Council, Oleksandr Karasevych, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, called for the imposition, maintenance, and strengthening of targeted sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet. The restrictions should apply to individuals, companies, and vessels involved in circumventing sanctions on Russian oil and in the export of stolen Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied territories. 

He also stressed the need to strengthen international monitoring and information sharing to protect the safety of shipping.

The official stressed that Russia continues to deliberately attack port infrastructure and commercial vessels in the Black Sea with missiles and drones. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, more than 1,600 port facilities and over 260 civilian vessels have been damaged, and more than 330 civilians have been injured. The scale of the attacks has increased significantly: 25 attacks were recorded throughout 2025, while more than 95 were recorded from June through September 2026.

Karasevich emphasized that the blockade of Ukrainian maritime exports threatens the food security of 400 million people worldwide and called for holding Moscow accountable for the attacks and environmental damage. At the same time, he noted that modern technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and satellite imagery, should help identify threats and protect civilian vessels.

Source: Ukrinform.

Meanwhile, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is allowing investors to begin the process of purchasing and refitting sanctioned “shadow fleet” oil tankers for the subsequent transport of oil not covered by sanctions.

In Russia—an aggressor state—a group of sanctioned tankers became stuck in the ice near the Vilkitsky Strait on the Northern Sea Route to China in July. The vessels anchored approximately 1,300 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.