Friendly: Super Eagles storm Moscow ahead of Russia showdown

Russia aims to construct a new "shadow fleet" of gas tankers to circumvent sanctions and maintain revenues from its gas exports, according to the UK Foreign Office on October 1st. The UK sanctioned eight vessels linked to this trade, including some that recently entered service, as part of a 31-designation package. These sanctions precede the EU's planned end to Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from early 2027.

London presented the package to intensify economic pressure on Moscow before winter, noting that Russia deployed over 3,100 jet-powered drones against Ukraine in September, surpassing the previous wartime record set in August. The UK sanctions focus on three shadow fleet vessels, two providing bunkering services, and three Russian-owned ice-class vessels.

Among the sanctioned vessels are the Aleksey Kosygin and Konstantin Posiet, designed to break through ice up to two meters thick. The sanctioned vessels include the Russian-flagged Aleksey Kosygin and Konstantin Posiet, among other ice-class tankers. The UK also targeted Novatek Gas and Power Asia, a Singapore subsidiary of Russia's largest LNG producer, Novatek. The package leaves limited routes for Russian LNG to reach Japan and South Korea.