As John Healey delivers his first Budget as Chancellor today, Ukrainian campaign group Razom We Stand is calling on him, and the UK, to fund a sustained crackdown on Russia’s shadow fleet as a core part of Britain’s defence. Healey resigned as Defence Secretary in June over military funding. He is expected to announce billions in new defence investment today, while leaving bigger decisions to next year’s Spending Review.
That money will not buy security while the revenue paying for Russia’s war sails past Britain’s coast. This weekend, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting warned that Britain has little more than 1,000 days to be ready for war with Russia. Yet last week, as reported by The Times, the Leruo, a tanker Britain sanctioned in October 2025, sailed past Shetland with 300,000 barrels of Russian diesel bound for the United States. Nobody stopped it.
Dr Svitlana Romanko, Executive Director of Razom We Stand, said:
“John Healey quit as Defence Secretary because he believed Britain was not spending enough to stay safe. Today he holds the purse strings, and he should use them to close the gap at sea. Every barrel of Russian oil that sails past the UK pays for the missiles and drones Russia fires at Ukrainian homes every night. Britain cannot spend billions preparing for Russian aggression while waving through the tankers that fund it. A small share of today’s defence money, spent on stopping sanctioned ships, would shore up Britain’s defence and hit the Kremlin where it hurts: its revenue.”
Enforcement at sea works. When ministers authorised boardings in March, sanctioned tankers turned away from the Channel. Since then, Britain has carried out one seizure on its own: the Smyrtos, in June. France has boarded six shadow fleet tankers since September 2025, often with British support. The government says it has “challenged” more than 700 suspected vessels, but a radio challenge does not stop a ship.
Last week the Commons Defence Committee warned of “glaring gaps” in UK maritime forces in the High North, the waters the Leruo used. Washington’s new licence for Russian diesel now gives cargoes like the Leruo’s a buyer. And with today’s Budget expected to offer help with energy costs, Razom We Stand says cutting fossil fuel demand for good is also a security measure: it shrinks the market Russia’s tankers serve.
Razom We Stand is calling on the Chancellor and the government to:
- Ring-fence part of the new defence money for maritime enforcement in the Channel, North Sea and High North, including regular, published stop-and-inspect operations against sanctioned tankers.
- Align sanctions designations with the EU and close the legal gaps that leave sanctioned ships flying flags of convenience beyond UK reach.
- Ensure no UK services, including P&I insurance, reach LNG tankers under UK sanctions, and urge the EU to match the UK’s ban on maritime services for Russian LNG from 1 January 2027.
- Press Washington to withdraw its diesel licence, and speed up Britain’s cheaper renewable energy buildout, to shift away from the costly fossil fuels that fund Russia’s war.
