How Russia's shadow fleet forced Europe back to sea (kyivindependent.com)

Europe's campaign to choke off Russia's ability to finance its war in Ukraine through oil revenues began with sanctions, legislation, and price caps. But as hundreds of ships helped Moscow evade those restrictions, Western governments increasingly backed those measures with aggressive maritime enforcement — deploying naval power and pirate-like tactics to disrupt the shadow fleet. As of May 2026, a Ukrainian government register has identified 1,404 vessels belonging to Russia's so-called shadow