
UK Hits Russia's 'Shadow Fleet' With New Sanctions Ahead Of Military Summit
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced new sanctions targeting Russia's so-called shadow fleet ahead of a military summit in Norway on Friday.
The government said it was sanctioning up to 100 oil tankers responsible for carrying more than $24 billion worth of cargo since the start of last year.
Britain has already targeted dozens of "shadow fleet" vessels which it believes are dodging sanctions imposed by Western nations on oil exports after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The UK also says the ships are damaging critical subsea cables in Europe.
"The threat from Russia to our national security cannot be underestimated," Mr Starmer said in a statement, adding that more measures are needed to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"That is why we will do everything in our power to destroy his shadow fleet operation, starve his war machine of oil revenues and protect the subsea infrastructure that we rely on for our everyday lives."
Mr Starmer was due to attend a meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in Oslo on Friday where Ukraine and Arctic security were set to be on the agenda.
The British-led military alliance is expected to announce further support for Ukraine's armed forces that will include intensive training exercises and efforts to counter disinformation, the UK government said.
Britain and Norway are also due to agree a new memorandum of understanding on "space domain awareness" that will include "tracking and sharing intelligence on satellites, space debris and other objects flying above Earth", the statement added.
JEF consists of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Netherlands, and Sweden, as well as the UK.

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Time of India
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Indian Express
an hour ago
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The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
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During COVID-19, when thousands of people died in Goa due to oxygen shortage, CM Sawant took a dig at Rane, saying the crisis was due to the mismanagement of the Goa Medical College. Rane hit back at the chief minister, saying he was misguided and demanded a high court probe into the crisis. Rane also clashed with the CM in a cabinet meeting in May 2021 after Pramod Sawant pointed out oxygen mismanagement. Rane left the meeting midway and did not attend meetings on oxygen supply for several weeks. The Goa High Court reprimanded CM Sawant and Rane during hearings on public interest litigations regarding the pandemic, saying, 'This is not the time for politics.' Again, after the 2022 assembly poll results, Rane's wife, Deviya Rane, also an MLA from Poriem, told the media, 'Her husband, Vishwajit, is ready to take over as CM as he has 15 years of experience.' Rane, who holds a crucial portfolio, visited Delhi and met party leaders to promote his candidature, as well. The BJP high command, however, did not favour him, and Pramod Sawant became CM for the second time. Rane defected from Congress in 2017 when he also engineered defections of two Congress MLAs to the BJP, to cushion the party in the 40-member Goa assembly. After CM Manohar Parrikar died, Rane hoped to get the top post. However, while the BJP leadership considered his name, it selected Pramod Sawant, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader, who had grown within the BJP cadre, for the top post. One BJP MLA told ThePrint: 'The problem of the BJP in Goa is that only a handful of MLAs come from an original RSS ideological background—unlike in other states. Most are from Congress and other parties. They see themselves as chief minister claimants and do not have what is required to follow BJP-like discipline. They also no longer have a figure, such as Parrikar, who commanded widespread respect in Goa BJP. That is why they undermine Pramod Sawant, who keeps a relatively low profile.' BJP vs BJP in Goa Vishwajit and Gaude, however, are not the only ministers to have troubled CM Sawant. His government has been facing opposition from within the party and reeling under intra-party rivalries since before his second tenure started. Earlier, at an event, Gaude said: 'A huge amount of taxpayers' money is allotted to the tribal welfare department. When it fails to organise any programmes efficiently, it shows a lack of government control over the administration.' CM Sawant threatened action against Gaude to dissuade him from further making such statements. Former minister and senior leader Pandurang Madkaikar, this year, told the media, 'All ministers are minting money in Goa. I had to pay between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh to a minister for a small task. It is not corruption but loot.' Launching an attack on him, his party colleague, Goa Industries Minister Mauvin Godinho, claimed that Madkaikar was making up the corruption charges. In January this year, former MLA Farrel Furtado brought allegations of a 'cash-for-job scam' in the state, and the Enforcement Directorate is currently investigating the same. Former PWD minister and MLA Nilesh Cabral, in the same month, criticised CM Sawant for stalled projects in Curchorem constituency, where Cabral is the MLA. In March this year, when party general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santhosh visited Goa, some MLAs, including Gaude, complained to him about BJP ministers allegedly indulging in corruption. A month before the 2022 assembly elections, Satya Pal Malik, former Goa Governor from November 2019 to August 2020, said his removal from Goa before the party sent him to Meghalaya had come because of his corruption charges against the CM Sawant-led government. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Goa didn't choose to become a casino city—now it's a state-sponsored moral gamble