Macron says French Navy, backed by the UK, intercepted a sanctioned tanker from Russia

PARIS (AP) — The French Navy, with support from the United Kingdom, has intercepted an oil tanker under international sanctions that was traveling from Russia, the latest effort by nations that support Ukraine to target Russian oil exports helping to finance President Vladimir Putin’s war.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced the interception in a post Monday on X, saying the Tagor was boarded on Sunday in the Atlantic. The post included a video showing a person rappelling from a helicopter onto a ship.

“It is unacceptable that boats skirt international sanctions, violate the law of the sea and finance the war that Russia has been waging for more than 4 years against Ukraine,” Macron wrote. “These ships, that don’t respect the most elementary rules of maritime navigation, are also a threat to the environment and everyone’s security.”

Oil revenue is a key part of Russia’s economy, allowing Putin to pour money into the war effort against Ukraine without worsening inflation for everyday people and avoiding a currency collapse.

Russia is believed to be using a fleet of hundreds of ships to evade international sanctions imposed over the war. France and other countries have vowed to crack down on the sanction-busting so-called “shadow fleet.”

French naval forces have intercepted a series of tankers suspected of links to Russia.

They include the Deyna, boarded in the Mediterranean Sea in March. Another tanker, the Grinch, intercepted in the Mediterranean in January, was released in February after paying a multimillion-euro penalty.