{"id":167243,"date":"2025-10-08T04:14:46","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T04:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-putin-using-shadow-fleet-to-launch-drones-to-attack-europe-says-zelensky-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T04:14:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T04:14:46","slug":"ukraine-russia-war-latest-putin-using-shadow-fleet-to-launch-drones-to-attack-europe-says-zelensky-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-putin-using-shadow-fleet-to-launch-drones-to-attack-europe-says-zelensky-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin using shadow fleet to launch drones to attack Europe, says Zelensky – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Zelensky says tankers being used by Russia to destabilise Europe
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Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> has accused Russia<\/a> of using the illicit tankers in its \u201cshadow fleet\u201d for intelligence gathering and sabotage operations against Europe<\/a>.
\u201cRussians are utilising tankers of their \u2018shadow fleet\u2019 \u2013 not only to finance the war, but also for sabotage and various destabilisation attempts in Europe,\u201d he said on social media, citing the launch of drones from these tankers as a recent example brought to his attention by the head of Ukraine<\/a>\u2019s foreign intelligence.
The announcement follows a French investigation into the sanctioned Boracay tanker, suspected to be part of Russia\u2019s shadow fleet, which unexpectedly departed its anchorage off western France days ago.
French president Emmanuel Macron<\/a> said it was unclear whether the vessel was involved in drone incursions in Denmark last week, which shut Danish airports close to the route the ship had been sailing from the Baltic to the North Sea.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump<\/a> has said he has \u201csort of\u201d decided on whether to supply long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, after Moscow warned such a move would spell the end of Russia-US relations.
“I think I want to find out what they’re doing with them,” the US president said.
Vladimir Putin has claimed Ukrainian forces are retreating and that Russia holds the initiative in its invasion of its European neighbour.
Describing seizing Ukrainian territory as “liberation”, he boasted of Russia’s military successes this year at a meeting in St Petersburg.
According to a Kremlin transcript, he said: “At this time, the Russian armed forces fully hold the strategic initiative.
“This year, we have liberated nearly 5,000 square km of territory – 4,900 \u2013 and 212 localities.
“Ukrainian forces, he said, “are retreating throughout the line of combat contact, despite attempts at fierce resistance.”
His comments were echoed by General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces, who told the meeting of top commanders that his troops were “advancing in practically all directions.”
Ukrainian forces, he said, were focused on slowing the Russian advance.
Gerasimov, overall commander of Russia’s war effort, said the heaviest fighting was gripping Pokrovsk and areas towards Dnipropetrovsk.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said on Friday he is discussing detailed proposals with Russia and Ukraine on how to restore off-site power to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
The plant, Europe’s largest, has been cut off from external power for more than a week. It is being cooled by emergency diesel generators.
The Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region was left largely without electricity for a time on Tuesday after a Ukrainian drone strike, Russian-installed governor Yevgeny Balitsky said.
Balitsky, in a later post on Telegram, said power had been restored throughout those parts of Zaporizhzhia region under Moscow’s control. He thanked emergency crews for their fast work.
The Russian-appointed governor of the neighbouring Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said separately that around 38,000 people there were without power, though he did not say whether it was connected to the outages in Zaporizhzhia.
Russia controls around three-quarters of the two southern Ukrainian regions, with frontlines largely unchanged since 2022.
Reuters was unable to confirm the reports, and there was no immediate comment from Kyiv.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia is utilising the tankers of its \u201cshadow fleet\u201d to finance the war and destabilise Europe.
\u201cThe Head of Foreign Intelligence reported in detail on how the Russians are utilising tankers of their \u2018shadow fleet\u2019 \u2013 not only to finance the war, but also for sabotage and various destabilisation attempts in Europe,\u201d he said on social media. \u201cRecent launches of drones from tankers are one such example. We share the information we have with our partners, and it is crucial that they take tangible steps in response to Russia.
\u201cWe are working toward this at all levels, and there will be further meetings and negotiations with partners, both public and behind closed doors. We are convincing them not to hold back on determination.
\u201cThe Russians must know that none of their destructive actions \u2013 all the vile things they do \u2013 will go unanswered by the world.\u201d
Humanitarian aid organisation Hope For Ukraine has expressed doubt that the war-torn country will receive Tomahawks requested from the United States as Trump teases he has \u201csort of\u201d made a decision on whether to grant the request.
CEO Yuriy Boyechko has said that it remains unlikely that Ukraine will receive the highly-coveted missiles, which have a range of 2,500 km, because \u201cTraditional launch platforms for Tomahawk missiles are sea-based, primarily deployed from US Navy ships and submarines.
\u201cUkraine has a very small navy, and the chances of it acquiring a Tomahawk\u2011capable surface ship or submarine are nearly zero.\u201d, the organisation added.
\u201cThe U.S. also has ground\u2011based launchers for Tomahawk missiles (the Typhon), but these systems are scarce and the U.S. will not sell them to European NATO members.
The only way Ukraine could receive Tomahawks would be if the US sent already\u2011retired LRF launchers, the organisation explained, adding that the country <\/strong>does not possess the specialised launch equipment or the trained personnel needed to field the Tomahawk missile system.
Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russian forces had captured almost 5,000 square km (1,930 square miles) of land in Ukraine in 2025 and that Moscow retained complete strategic initiative on the battlefield.
Putin, addressing a meeting with Russian top military commanders, said Ukrainian forces were retreating in all sectors of the front. He said Kyiv was trying to strike deep into Russian territory, but it would not help it to change the situation in the more than 3 1\/2-year-old war.
“At this time, the Russian armed forces fully hold the strategic initiative,” Putin told the meeting in northwestern Russia, according to a Kremlin transcript.
“This year, we have liberated nearly 5,000 square km of territory – 4,900 – and 212 localities.”
Ukrainian forces, he said, “are retreating throughout the line of combat contact, despite attempts at fierce resistance.”
Russia’s Defence Ministry on Tuesday reported the capture of two more villages along the front, which Ukraine’s top commander says now extends over 1,250 km (775 miles).
Ukrainian accounts of the situation on the front line say Kyiv’s forces have made gains in the Donetsk region, particularly near the town of Dobropillia. President Volodymyr Zelensky has also said Ukrainian forces have regained ground in the border Sumy region, where Russia has established a foothold.
Russia<\/a> hosted a delegation of Afghanistan<\/a>‘s ruling Taliban<\/a> government Tuesday and issued a strong warning against a foreign military presence in the country.
Speaking at the start of an international meeting on Afghanistan in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov<\/a> praised the Taliban government for efforts to combat the Islamic State and other extremist groups, as well as eradicate illegal drugs.
Lavrov emphasized that \u201cthe deployment of military infrastructure of any third countries on the territory of Afghanistan, as well as on the territories of neighboring states, is categorically unacceptable under any pretext.\u201d
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