French naval commandos seized another oil tanker from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” in the Mediterranean Sea near Sicily, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday, in the latest European move aimed at choking off Moscow’s energy revenues and its ability to finance the war in Ukraine.
Macron said the vessel, the Deliver, was boarded on Tuesday after allegedly violating maritime law. It was the fifth tanker seized by France since it launched an enforcement campaign against Russia’s shadow fleet in September, and came about a week and a half after Britain carried out a similar operation near its territorial waters.
French commandos board Putin’s tanker in footage shared by Macron
In a post on X, Macron shared a short video of the French operation. The clip showed a helicopter hovering over the ship’s deck and armed commandos entering one of its rooms. The tanker reportedly sailed under a Cameroonian flag and had departed from Primorsk, Russia.
“This action against the shadow fleet, carried out just days after a similar British operation, demonstrates the determination of Europeans,” Macron said. “We will not allow the shadow fleet to circumvent sanctions and finance Russia’s war effort. Europe is determined.”
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French forces board Russian ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker near Sicily in Mediterranean
(Photo: Handout / ETAT-MAJOR DES ARMEES / AFP)
The “shadow fleet” refers to a network of often aging tankers sailing under different flags and through opaque ownership structures to help Russia export oil despite Western sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine. Western estimates cited in the report say the fleet includes more than 700 tankers and is responsible for around 75% of Russian oil exports, providing what officials describe as a lifeline for the Kremlin.
Russia has repeatedly condemned such enforcement operations against the tankers, calling them piracy.
It was the fifth tanker seized by France since it launched an enforcement campaign against Russia’s shadow fleet in September
(Photo: Handout / ETAT-MAJOR DES ARMEES / AFP)
France’s announcement came shortly after the Kremlin said it would examine its “legal options” following a British report that London could auction off crude oil seized from a Russian tanker intercepted earlier this month in the English Channel. According to the report, the British navy seized about 100,000 tons of crude oil from the tanker Smyrtos, and proceeds from a possible sale could be transferred to Ukraine.
France has seized five tankers since September, according to AFP. Three of the previous four were later released, while two were required to pay fines. The exact amounts were not disclosed, but the French Foreign Ministry said one of the tankers paid “several million euros.” In April, France said it would double fines on ships for flying false flags or refusing to comply with orders.
(Photo: Handout / ETAT-MAJOR DES ARMEES / AFP)
(Photo: Handout / ETAT-MAJOR DES ARMEES / AFP)
France and Britain say sanctions and tighter enforcement have significantly harmed Russia’s oil and natural gas export revenues, which fell 24% in 2025 compared with the previous year. The pressure has been compounded by intensifying Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.
Ukraine said Thursday it had struck an oil facility in Russia’s Krasnodar region and two refineries in Ufa, around 1,500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The strikes are part of a broader Ukrainian campaign targeting Russian fuel and energy infrastructure, with recent attacks also hitting oil depots and refineries and contributing to fuel shortages in parts of Russia, according to AP.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the deep strikes as “long-term sanctions,” saying they are intended to disrupt Russia’s oil industry and increase internal pressure on Moscow to negotiate.
Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky
(Photo: Sergei Bobylev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo/ AP, AFP / JOHN HAMILTON / US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE)
“We are implementing our long-term sanctions plan,” Zelensky said Thursday. “I thank all Ukrainian fighters who ensure our precision. The Russians must think about real diplomacy instead of trying again to deceive others or buy time. This war must be brought to an end.”
Zelensky’s remarks appeared to refer in part to U.S. President Donald Trump, who has reduced his direct efforts to end the war but has not abandoned that goal. Trump, who previously criticized Zelensky while pressing him to accept Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands, praised the Ukrainian leader at the White House on Wednesday during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
“He’s not doing badly at all, anyway you look at it,” Trump said. “He’s at least hanging in there. A lot of people are dying on both sides, but I think he’s doing pretty well. You have to say he’s brave. He has great equipment, but he also has great people, great fighters.”
Meanwhile, Belarus, Russia’s close ally, accused the West of trying to drag it into the war. Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said there were efforts to “extend and even expand” the armed conflict in Ukraine, which he blamed on the West.
Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko with Putin. He has helped him extensively, but has so far avoided direct involvement in the war
(Photo: Dmitry Astakhov, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP, File)
“Today, we are fully aware of a blatant attempt to drag Belarus into the war,” he said.
His comments followed a Wall Street Journal report that Russia was pressuring Belarus to allow expanded Russian military activity on its territory. The Kremlin denied the report Thursday, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying it did “not correspond to reality.”
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has been a close ally of Putin and allowed Russian troops to invade Ukraine from Belarusian territory at the start of the war in February 2022. But he has so far avoided direct involvement in the fighting.
According to the report, Russia recently expanded its use of ground relay stations in Belarus to guide drones launched against Ukrainian cities. Russian and European officials said Moscow was now pressuring Minsk to expand Russia’s military activity in Belarus, potentially allowing drones to be launched directly from Belarusian territory or stretching the front westward to draw Ukrainian forces away from the east.
Zelensky warned Belarus last week over the alleged relay stations, demanding that Lukashenko dismantle them within a week. “If he does not do it, we will,” Zelensky said. He later claimed the stations had stopped operating, a development also reported by The Guardian.