Britain is finally on the verge of its first military boarding operations against Russian shadow fleet vessels, with prime minister Sir Keir Starmer approving the use of armed forces and law enforcement to intercept sanctioned ships transiting UK waters. Specialist military units including the Special Boat Service and Royal Marines have completed training for the operations, which could happen imminently. Military planners are actively monitoring ship-tracking systems to identify which sanctioned vessels are headed for UK waters. Starmer, speaking ahead of a Joint Expeditionary Force summit in Helsinki, said: “Putin is rubbing his hands at the war in the Middle East because he thinks higher oil prices will let him line his pockets. That’s why we’re going after his shadow fleet even harder, not just keeping Britain safe but starving Putin’s war machine of the dirty profits that fund his barbaric campaign in Ukraine.” Britain’s move comes as European nations – led by France and Sweden as well as Estonia, Finland and Belgium – step up shadow fleet enforcement, while Ukraine has attacked Russian oil export facilities hard this week. The UK government estimates around 75% of Russia’s crude oil is transported by ageing shadow fleet ships, and has imposed sanctions on 544 vessels. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsRussia United Kingdom