Ukraine signals shadow fleet ships could be military targets as vessel attacks escalate
- Ukraine raises questions at IMO over whether shadow fleet vessels should be treated as military assets
- Warning follows a surge in drone attacks on merchant ships by both Russia and Ukraine, including recent strikes that killed crew members and damaged vessels in the Black Sea
- Kyiv has intensified its own targeting of ships it says are involved in Russian military logistics, as Moscow escalates rhetoric and labels Ukrainian maritime strikes ‘piracy’ and ‘terrorism’
Kyiv says Russia’s covert tanker and cargo fleet is directly supporting Moscow’s war effort, a move that could broaden the justification for strikes as attacks on merchant shipping escalate in the Black Sea
