Ukraine’s former infrastructure minister Kubrakov who helped negotiate the Black Sea grain corridor in 2022 calls the tanker strikes a bargaining weapon: “As a long-term plan, it won’t work. But as a desperate gesture ahead of negotiations, the risks may be justified.” 10X
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Ukraine’s allies uneasy after Romania destroys drone, Estonia warns
Ukraine’s allies are uneasy. Romania destroyed a drifting Ukrainian naval drone near its coast. Estonia warned Ukraine not to strike tankers in the Baltic Sea, where over half of Russia’s seaborne oil exports pass. 8/
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US shifts policy: Sanctions impact Russian oil exports, 1.4 million barrels stuck.
The US response has changed. Under Trump, Washington no longer blocks strikes on Russian energy assets and has backed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil. Nearly 1.4 mln barrels/day of Russian oil exports are now stuck in tankers. 9/
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Putin warns Russia could sink ships carrying Ukrainian grain and metals
Russia called the attacks piracy. Putin warned on Dec 2 that Moscow could retaliate by sinking ships carrying Ukrainian grain and metals — even those owned by Ukraine’s partners or “cut Ukraine off from the sea.” 7/
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EU blacklists 557 vessels, but enforcement fails to stop Russia’s shadow fleet.
The targets belong to Russia’s shadow fleet — tankers that evade sanctions using shell companies, foreign flags, and disabled transponders. EU sanctions now blacklist 557 vessels, but enforcement has failed to stop oil flows funding the Kremlin. 5/
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SBU confirms Black Sea strikes on five oil tankers as kinetic sanctions
That rule changed in late November 2025. Five oil tankers were hit in 13 days — three near Ukraine, one near Turkey, one off West Africa. SBU confirmed responsibility for the Black Sea strikes, calling them “kinetic sanctions” on Russian oil. 3/
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Trump pushed pro-Russia peace plan before tanker attack; Zelensky rejected, showed leverage.
The timing matters. Days before the first tanker attack, the Trump administration pushed Ukraine to accept a 28-point peace plan heavily favoring Russia. Zelensky rejected it, softened terms in talks, then showed what military leverage Ukraine still has. 4/
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Ukraine avoided striking civilian vessels, minister called it piracy
For more than two years, Ukraine avoided striking civilian vessels, even those carrying Russian oil that funds the war. Oleksandr Kubrakov, then infrastructure minister, stopped an SBU strike in 2023: “That would be piracy. Those are not our methods.” 2/
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Ukrainian drones hit Russian shadow fleet oil tankers
The most effective sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet right now are Ukrainian SBU drones. In the past two weeks, they hit three oil tankers in the Black Sea. But The Atlantic writes this escalation also signals Ukrainian desperation ahead of talks. 1/
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Inside the lives of Ukraine’s youngest soldiers choosing to serve
Source: https://
united24media.com/war-in-ukraine
/inside-the-lives-of-ukraines-youngest-soldiers-choosing-to-serve-14234
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