Ukraine imposes sanctions on 656 vessels of Russia’s shadow fleet (Photo: Reuters / File Photo)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree enacting the National Security and Defense Council’s decision to impose sanctions on 656 maritime vessels that are part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, he said on Dec. 13.

According to the president’s office, monitoring of the Black, Red and Baltic seas revealed that these ships were used by Russia to bypass sanctions imposed by the European Union, the G7, and other countries, allowing it to export oil, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas. Shipowners and crews were found to have disabled their Automatic Identification Systems and used schemes to conceal ownership and the origin of cargo.

The sanctioned vessels are registered under the flags of more than 50 countries, including Gambia, Sierra Leone, Panama and Cameroon. Ukraine will share all relevant information with those countries and work with them to halt the issuance of licenses for the operation of such ships, the statement said.

Ukraine also plans to coordinate with international partners to synchronize these sanctions in their respective jurisdictions. A significant portion of the vessels are already under sanctions from the United States, United Kingdom, EU, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

In addition, Ukraine will continue working with partners to push for a complete ban on maritime services for vessels involved in the export of Russian energy resources. Zelenskyy called the sanctions package a key step in countering the Russian fleet used to transport oil and other energy products that fund the Kremlin’s war effort.

“This is the largest sanctions package specifically targeting tankers and other ships serving the war of aggression. It includes vessels sailing not only under the Russian flag, but also under the flags of other countries — more than 50 jurisdictions in total,” he said. “Pressure on Russia and diplomacy aimed at ending the war must go hand in hand to achieve the desired outcome. Russia must stop the war it started and continues to prolong.”

On Nov. 30, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had aligned its sanctions policy with that of the United States by imposing restrictions on the Russian oil giant Rosneft and companies affiliated with the Lukoil group.

The Atlantic earlier reported that in recent weeks, Ukraine had attacked five tankers from the shadow fleet that were transporting Russian oil.