The UK has provided £35 million of emergency support to help Ukraine repair its energy grid and support the most vulnerable through a third winter of war, the Prime Minister has announced today. 

It comes as the UK also reinforces its iron-clad support for Ukraine by launching fresh sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector.  Today’s sanctions target 20 shadow fleet ships carrying illicit Russian oil, including Ocean Faye, Andaman Skies and Mianzimu, which have each carried more than four million barrels of Russian oil in 2024.

Key lynchpins in enabling the trading of Putin’s precious oil, 2Rivers DMCC and 2Rivers PTE LTD have also been slapped with sanctions. These new measures will further drain Putin’s war chest, by clamping down on the oil revenues he so desperately needs to fuel his illegal war and put those who enable Russia’s oil exports on notice. 

The UK has now sanctioned over 100 ships for transporting Russian energy, including 93 oil tankers, more than any other nation. Due to sustained efforts to lead the charge against the shadow fleet, its ships are left idling uselessly outside ports, which is costing Putin and his war effort millions in wasted funds. 

As the UK continues to bear down on the Kremlin, we are also working to protect against shadow fleet activity in the Baltic and North Sea. The UK has already spearheaded new action to challenge suspected shadow vessels passing through the English Channel to provide proof of insurance. 

It comes as Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Finland and Estonia, alongside the UK, have now agreed to work together to challenge suspected shadow vessels in the same way along the Baltic route, and in doing so hold shadow vessels and their enablers to account for the risks they pose and the support they provide to Russia’s war machine.

This new drive for an international crack down on Putin’s illicit oil shipping delivers on the Prime Minister’s commitment to tackle the shadow fleet at the EPC earlier this year.

It follows the worst period of Russian missile attacks since the start of the full-scale invasion, with an attack last month believed to have left a million Ukrainians without electricity. 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

As Putin’s oil revenues continue to fuel the fires of his illegal war, Ukrainian families are enduring cold, dark nights, often without heating, light or electricity, targeted by Russia’s relentless missile attacks.  

But these systematic attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure will not grind Ukraine down. It will only deepen our resolve and support. 

These sanctions will add further pressure to Putin’s stalling war economy, just as we strengthen Ukraine’s hand with new funding for emergency support to meet its humanitarian needs and for vital repairs to the energy system, to help Ukrainians living through the third winter of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion. 

The package of funding support includes a £20 million uplift to support emergency energy needs, as well as support for carrying out vital repairs to the electricity transmission network and providing further power generation capacity and critical protection for energy infrastructure.

This includes a project to generate an additional 20MW of power supply, enough to provide power to up to 20,000 homes.

A further £15 million will provide lifesaving humanitarian support to the most in need as temperatures in Ukraine plummet, while £5m will go to UNICEF to provide basic necessities. The UK is also reinforcing its iron-clad support for Ukraine by launching fresh sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector today.

£10 million will be delivered through UNHCR to provide more than 21,000 families with rapid thermal kits, shelter repairs, and additional cash payments for winter, as well as generators and support to local winterisation of collective centres housing vulnerable people who have been displaced from their homes by Russian aggression.  

Russia has launched 11 large scale attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in 2024. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, at least two thirds of power generation has been damaged or destroyed. As winter bites, Ukrainians are suffering without power, lacking light and heating in sub-zero temperatures and dark evenings. 

More than 14.6 million Ukrainians require humanitarian assistance, as months of attacks force more and more people from their homes. The UK’s funding will support communities to stem displacement.

More than two thirds of Ukraine’s energy generation capacity has been occupied, damaged or destroyed.  

Notes to editors: 

• The UK’s support to Ukraine is detailed here: UK support to Ukraine: factsheet – GOV.UK 
• The Nordic-Baltic 8+ joint statement detailing a coordinated approach to requesting proof of insurance from suspected shadow vessels can be found here: Joint statement on further action to counter Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’
• Sanctioned today are: 
  • 2Rivers DMCC
  • 2Rivers PTE LTD
  • IMO 9296822 (“SAGITTA”)
  • IMO 9408205 (“FAST KATHY”)
  • IMO 9248801 (“MU DAN”)
  • IMO 9321689 (“OCEAN FAYE”)
  • IMO 9318539 (“SWIFTSEA RIDER”)
  • IMO 9282479 (“MINERVA M”)
  • IMO 9288693 (“ANDAMAN SKIES”)
  • IMO 9257022 (“LACONIA”)
  • IMO 9253325 (“NURKEZ”)
  • IMO 9292981 (“SAGAR VIOLET”)
  • IMO 9292503 (“BULL”)
  • IMO 9288746 (“MARATHON”)
  • IMO 9281011 (“MOTI”)
  • IMO 9258868 (“ASHER”)
  • IMO 9332781 (“LANG YA”)
  • IMO 9323986 (“GARASAN”)
  • IMO 9255660 (“PONTUS I”)
  • IMO 9271951 (“FACCA”)
  • IMO 9299666 (“MIANZIMU”)
  • IMO 9293155 (“JUNIA”)