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President Zelenskyy will be hosted by the Prime Minister at an extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet tomorrow morning, as the UK spearheads a major initiative to crack down on Russia鈥檚 鈥榮hadow fleet鈥�.聽

The Ukrainian leader, who will be the first official visitor to Downing Street during Prime Minister Keir Starmer鈥檚 tenure, is expected to meet and brief the new Cabinet about the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, and the need to ramp up Europe鈥檚 defence industrial base to outpace the Russian threat. The last foreign leader to address the Cabinet in person was President Clinton in 1997.聽

The meeting comes after the launch of a 鈥楥all to Action鈥� to disrupt the Russian fleet - which is enabling Russia to evade international sanctions - at the European Political Community summit today.聽聽

Spearheaded by the UK, 44 European countries plus the European Union have agreed to work together to tackle the use of illegitimate vessels, which also pose significant security and environmental threats to European waterways.聽

The shadow fleet is made up of around 600 vessels and represents approximately 10% of the global 鈥渨et cargo鈥� fleet. It carries approximately 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, generating significant funds to fuel Russia鈥檚 war machine.

Some of the ships are also alleged to double as Russian listening stations, while others are believed to be transporting weaponry to Russia.

The Prime Minister is expected to tell President Zelenskyy tomorrow that the UK will go further in the coming months to place a greater stranglehold on Putin鈥檚 war machine.聽

The two leaders are also expected to agree a Defence Export Support Treaty, which will be signed by defence ministers, to fire up both the UK鈥檚 and Ukraine鈥檚 defence industrial bases and increase military hardware and weaponry production.

The treaty will enable Ukraine to draw on 拢3.5 billion of export finance, to support its armed forces. It will also allow Ukrainian and UK defence companies to invest in further military capabilities and continue to rapidly innovate on new and novel military hardware.聽

The boost follows the opening of a major UK repair and overhaul facility in Ukraine to help sustain the war effort. BAE Systems opened the facility to allow Ukraine to return overhauled land vehicles back to the front line quicker.聽

The export finance is in addition to the 拢3 billion a year of UK support, announced by the Prime Minister at NATO, to support Ukraine鈥檚 defence for as long as it takes.聽

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:聽

Ukraine is, and always will be, at the heart of this government鈥檚 agenda and so it is only fitting that President Zelenskyy will make a historic address to my Cabinet.

Russia鈥檚 incremental gains on the battlefield are nothing compared with the collective international support for Ukraine, or the strength of ties between our people.

And alongside聽our European partners, we have sent a clear message to those enabling Putin鈥檚 attempts to evade sanctions:聽we will not allow Russia鈥檚 shadow fleet, and the dirty money it generates, to flow freely through European waters and put our security at risk.

The UK has also sanctioned a host of oil tankers today, which transport Russian oil. Among the new ships targeted are the ROCKY RUNNER (IMO 9288899), which sought to escape previous UK action by changing its operator.

This follows after UK action last month that halted tankers collectively responsible for transporting approximately 13 million barrels of Russian crude and oil products since January 2023, worth approximately $930 million.

The 鈥榮hadow fleet鈥�, also known as the 鈥榙ark fleet鈥�, poses serious maritime security and environmental risks. The vessels are often old and unsafe, and engage in dangerous and deceptive shipping practices, such as turning off location tracking systems, which flouts international maritime聽standards, and increases the likelihood of catastrophic incidents.聽

EPC states govern some of the world鈥檚 busiest and most important waterways, and dozens of incidents are known to have already taken place, such as onboard fires, engine failures, oil spills and collisions, and many of the vessels lack the appropriate insurance.聽

The UK has already taken robust action to restrict Russian revenues, including implementing the most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy 鈥� sanctioning more than 2,000 individuals and entities since Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine, including 29 banks with global assets worth 拢1 trillion, more than 131 oligarchs with a combined net worth of more than 拢147 billion at the time of the invasion, and more than 拢20 billion worth of UK-Russia bilateral trade.鈥� 聽

Action to disrupt and deter the shadow fleet comes after the UK contributed 拢40 million to NATO鈥檚 Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine last week, ensuring Ukraine can access vital assistance for counter drone protection, demining of recaptured land and the medical rehabilitation of its injured military personnel. That followed the UK-administered International Fund for Ukraine placing new orders, worth 拢300 million, for 120,000 rounds of 152mm Soviet-era ammunition to bolster Ukraine鈥檚 defences against Russia.聽

The leaders are also expected to discuss the conclusion of UK 鈥� Ukraine negotiations to provide 拢181 million of support to Energoatom for the supply of nuclear fuel from Urenco.

Notes to Editors

List of ship specifications:聽

• ROCKY RUNNER (IMO 9288899)聽

• DYNAMIK TRADER (IMO 9286657)聽

• FIGHTER TWO (IMO 9296391)聽

• SCF AMUR (IMO 9333436)聽

• SCF PECHORA (IMO 9333424)聽

• ZALIV AMURSKIY (IMO 9354313)聽

• NS LOTUS (IMO 9339337)聽

• NS COMMANDER (IMO 9306794)聽

• ADYGEYA (IMO 9292204)聽

• KOROLEV PROSPECT (IMO 9826902)聽

• PRIMORSKY PROSPECT (IMO 9511533)聽

Note on ship specification:聽

Ships specified under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 are prohibited from entering a port in the UK, may be given a movement or a port entry direction, can be detained, and will be refused permission to register on the UK Ship Register or have its existing registration terminated. In addition, the Oil Price Cap exception is not applicable to services in relation to specified ships, or to the supply or delivery of Russian oil or oil products in specified ships. The Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation has published guidance on the Russian Oil Services ban. Limited exceptions apply and licences may be granted for specified ships, as set out in Part 7 of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.