British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that 44 European countries have approved a new plan to combat Russia's shadow fleet of oil tankers, which is used to circumvent international sanctions. This decision was another step in an attempt to stop the financing of the Russian military machine in Ukraine, as well as to reduce environmental risks for Europe's waterways.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the joint "call to action" aims to disrupt the operation of the fleet, which consists of approximately 600 vessels. These tankers are used by Russia to transport about 1.7 million barrels of oil every day. This scale allows the Russian side to circumvent international sanctions imposed on its oil products.

As part of the new sanctions, the UK government also announced restrictions against 11 tankers used to transport Russian oil. Eight of these tankers belong to the Russian state oil company PJSC Sovkomflot, while the other three have the characteristics of shadow fleet vessels.

The shadow fleet of oil tankers not only supports Russian military activity in Ukraine, but also represents a significant environmental threat to European waterways. Some of these ships are also used as Russian listening stations and transport weapons to Russia.

According to the updated sanctions list, more than 60 oil tankers are currently under sanctions by the United States, Great Britain and the European Union. These measures have already resulted in most of these tankers ceasing cargo, an important step in the fight against Russia's circumvention schemes.

Thus, the new sanctions are part of a broad strategy of the international community aimed at increasing economic pressure on Russia and supporting Ukraine in the ongoing conflict.