The sanctioned oil tankers have transported over $24 billion in cargo since 2024, according to Downing Street. The U.K. has now sanctioned more shadow fleet vessels than any other country.
Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
Moscow and Washington discuss the potential resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe, among other issues related to the peaceful settlement of Russia's war in Ukraine, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed to the Russian state-run Interfax news agency.
"This is a historic decision, as weapons for Ukraine will be purchased at the expense of the proceeds from frozen Russian assets through the European Peace Fund," Denys Shmyhal said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin in a meeting in Seoul, South Korea, on Nov. 9, 2023. (U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken/Twitter)
U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken expressed his concern about the growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea during a visit to South Korea on Nov. 9.
His comments came during a joint press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin.
The military ties are increasingly a "two-way street," in which North Korea provides Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine. In turn, Russia offers military technology and assists with North Korea's long-range attack capabilities, potentially including ballistic missiles and nuclear technology, according to Blinken.
Speaking on a trip to Asia that includes stops in Japan and India, Blinken emphasized that the military ties between Russia and North Korea are not just a potential threat to their respective neighbors but also to the "global non-proliferation regime."
With Russia's military stocks running low and domestic production capacity simultaneously hampered by Western sanctions, it has increasingly turned to other sources for military equipment, including North Korea.
Russia and North Korea signed a widely condemned arms deal in October, which Russia has denied.
Nonetheless, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Oct. 13 that Russia had received shipments of North Korean weapons and ammunition following a meeting between Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in September.
South Korean military officials reported in November that North Korea may have provided Russia with short-range ballistic missiles, as well as over 1 million artillery shells.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for its "fundamental, unequivocal support" in the war against Ukraine on Oct. 18 during a visit to the country.
Katie Marie Davies
