The Ukrainian president had just criticized European inaction regarding the war in Ukraine – which is now in its fourth year – and it only took five minutes for Europe to respond with the seizure of an oil tanker in the Mediterranean
“Why is President Trump able to stop ghost fleet tankers and seize oil, but Europe can’t?” The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, had just said the phrase in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, when, five minutes later, Emmanuel Macron announced that the French Navy had seized a Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean.
The ship intercepted by French authorities would be “subject to international sanctions”, wrote the French president on the social network X.
“This morning, the French Navy approached an oil tanker from Russia, subject to international sanctions and suspected of sailing under a false flag”, explained the head of state, stressing that “it will not tolerate any violation”.
We will not tolerate any violation.
This morning, the French Navy boarded an oil tanker coming from Russia, subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag.
The operation was conducted on the high seas in the Mediterranean,…
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron)
Macron stressed that the country is “determined to defend international law” and committed to “guaranteeing the effective application of sanctions”, adding that a judicial investigation has already been opened.
The French operation was carried out on the high seas and conducted “in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea”, with the support of allies, according to the same publication.
The head of state ended his message by saying that the activities of the “ghost fleet” contribute to financing Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The activities of the “ghost fleet” contribute to financing the war of aggression against Ukraine.
