FT: Ukraine says Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ ships could be legitimate military targets

Ukraine has argued to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that vessels in Russia's “shadow fleet” could be considered legitimate military targets, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing a letter from Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba to the IMO.

In Kyiv’s view, the tankers are “critical to the generation of budget revenues for the Russian Federation and the continuation of its war effort” and therefore fall outside the scope of ordinary civilian transport. Ukraine views the fleet as one of the key channels allowing Russia to evade sanctions and export oil and gas.

Kuleba’s letter came in response to a complaint Moscow filed with the IMO. Russia had accused Ukraine of “terrorism” after an attack on a Russian-flagged tanker in the Mediterranean in March. Ukraine, for its part, claims Russia has attacked 59 merchant vessels since the start of 2026. The industry publication the Maritime Executive, drawing on the same letter, gave more detailed figures: according to Ukrainian data, 206 merchant ships and 967 port facilities have been damaged or partially destroyed since the start of the full-scale war.

Meanwhile, European countries have stepped up detentions of vessels they believe belong to Russia's shadow fleet. Reuters reported that nine such tankers have been detained in Europe since the start of 2026, four of them by France. Ukraine's allies are also pressuring flag states — including Barbados, Panama, and Cameroon — to strip these ships of their registration.

The shadow fleet refers to a loose group of hundreds of aging oil tankers operating under the flags of various countries that Russia and other countries such as Iran use to avoid international sanctions.