Lloyd’s List analysis suggests 40 suspicious vessels joined Russian registry last year, with 17 reflagged last month

Forty ships accused of belonging to a large “shadow fleet” moving sanctioned oil for Venezuela and others were reflagged to Russia last year in an apparent attempt to gain Kremlin protection from American seizure.

Analysis by the shipping intelligence publication Lloyd’s List suggests that of those, at least 17 suspicious vessels joined the Russian registry over the past month, compared with 15 ships in the previous five months of 2025.

Despite Brussels’ pledge to ban Russian LNG by 2027, shipments to European ports increased in the last year

European governments have been accused of fuelling Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine as new data shows the Kremlin earned an estimated €7.2bn (£6.2bn) last year from exporting its liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the EU.

Brussels has pledged to ban imports of Russian LNG – natural gas that is supercooled to make it easier to transport – by 2027 but an analysis suggests there is yet to be any letup in the vast quantities being received at European ports from Russia’s LNG complex on the Yamal peninsula in Siberia.

Vasyl Malyuk reportedly unwilling to leave post as head of the Security Service but will now lead special operations

The spy chief who led Ukraine’s most audacious behind-the-lines operations in its war with Russia has been forced to resign by Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Vasyl Malyuk, who was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine last year, reportedly fought to stay in post as head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) but relented on Monday at a meeting with the president.