'We will not allow it' — French navy intercepts another Russian shadow fleet vessel
France's navy intercepted and boarded on March 20 yet another vessel from Russia's so-called "shadow fleet," French President Emmanual Macron revealed.
"The war involving Iran will not deflect France from its support for Ukraine, where Russia’s war of aggression continues unabated," Macron wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"These vessels, which evade international sanctions and violate the law of the sea, are profiteers of war. They line their pockets while helping finance Russia’s war effort."
We remain resolute.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 20, 2026
This morning in the Mediterranean, the French Navy intercepted and boarded another vessel from the shadow fleet, the Deyna.
The war involving Iran will not deflect France from its support for Ukraine, where Russia’s war of aggression continues unabated.… pic.twitter.com/SYCPKblacb
Russia has assembled since the start of the full-scale war in 2022 a so-called "shadow fleet" of oil tankers, operating through a web of shell companies, deceptive registration practices, and shifting national flags to obscure Russian ownership.
The network is designed to evade international sanctions and sustain the export of Russian oil in the global market.
France has taken an active role in efforts to curb Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet" in its territorial waters, intercepting vessels in late September 2025 and again at the end of January as part of a broader push to disrupt the network’s operations.
The Belgian government reported in early March that it had also carried out a joint operation with France to detain a sanctioned Russian oil tanker that had been flying under the Guinean flag.
Ukraine has repeatedly applauded these efforts and urged its European allies to modernize legislation so that the vessels operating under Russia's "shadow fleet" may be seized and their oil repurposed in the interest of European security.
"We must be resolute. Russia operates like a mafia organization, and the response must match that reality," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in early March. "If they reject the rules for the sake of war, the rules must foresee a clear and firm answer."
