United 24 Media:
🫢🚢 More than half of the tankers in Russia’s shadow fleet transporting sanctioned oil are deteriorating and could pose a serious environmental threat.
According to Anil Sharma, CEO of GMS Partnership, at least one-third of these vessels should already be scrapped, although the actual share may exceed 50%.
The Financial Times reports that owners of sanctioned tankers are extending their operational lives as much as possible, taking advantage of high oil prices and the profitability of transporting sanctioned crude.
🔷 Over the past week, Ukrainian drones and missiles have struck targets in eight Russian regions located 300–1,200 km from the border, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The targets were located in the Yaroslavl, Ryazan, Voronezh, Volgograd, Rostov, Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, and Krasnodar regions.
According to Zelenskyy, strikes were also carried out overnight against an oil refinery in the Saratov region, as well as facilities in the Rostov region and on the Caspian Sea.
🔶 The EU may include 20 tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet in its next sanctions package, Bloomberg reports.
The sanctions regime could later be expanded to cover vessels transporting liquefied natural gas. The EU is also considering restrictions on ships that provide services to shadow-fleet tankers.
In addition, the new package may include sanctions against more banks, oil traders, refineries, and cryptocurrency operators in third countries that Moscow allegedly uses to circumvent existing restrictions.
🔷 The IAEA inspected the site of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and confirmed damage to the exterior of a turbine building following a UAV strike.
The agency added that radiation levels at the plant remain normal.
Earlier today, Russian authorities reported a strike on the plant’s transport department, claiming damage to their vehicle fleet and accusing Ukraine’s Defense Forces of carrying out the attack.
Ukraine has denied any involvement, stressing that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is Ukrainian territory and that there is no reason for Ukraine to strike its own facility.
🔶 CNN has revealed how Ukraine is directing deep-strike operations inside Russia using AI and the Palantir platform.
Journalist Nick Paton Walsh was given access to a Ukrainian command post responsible for long-range drone operations.
Screens inside the facility displayed drone routes in real time, target coordinates, and data continuously analyzed by artificial intelligence.
The PRISMA system, built on the American Palantir platform, processes thousands of variables, including locations where Russian air defenses have intercepted drones. AI then calculates new routes through the resulting gaps in air defense coverage.
A commander with the callsign “Vector” said there are several such command centers, all geographically dispersed, meaning the destruction of one site would not affect the operation of the overall system.
🔷 The self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, echoed Vladimir Putin by warning Armenia to be “very careful” not to “repeat what happened in Ukraine.”
“Armenians should be very careful so that, God forbid, they do not repeat what happened in Ukraine.
In Ukraine, it all started like that. You remember it. Armenians have just emerged from one war, and they should not end up in a difficult situation because of this. There is no need to rush. We simply need to think and act wisely,” Lukashenko said.
🔶 “We try to intercept all Russian drones, including those heading toward other countries such as Romania, Moldova, Poland, or the Baltic states. If we cannot do so, we immediately inform our partners and try to assist them,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Face the Nation.
“Russia uses drones to put pressure on NATO countries and to test their reaction. This is their typical message: do not help Ukraine.
I believe NATO’s response should be stronger.”
According to Zelenskyy, Putin compares current reactions with those he has seen in previous years and is also testing the air-defense capabilities of NATO countries bordering Russia or Belarus to determine whether they can intercept all missiles and drones.
🔷 Germany and France are increasingly discussing nuclear deterrence, Der Spiegel reports.
According to the publication, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s security adviser, Günter Sautter, traveled to Paris to take part in the first round of talks on closer cooperation in the field of nuclear deterrence.
Representatives of several other European countries also participated. Der Spiegel reports that the next meeting is planned in Germany before the summer holidays.
On March 2, Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to deepen cooperation on nuclear deterrence. In a joint statement, Berlin and Paris said they had established a “high-level nuclear steering group” to serve as a bilateral framework for cooperation, including consultations on the optimal combination of conventional weapons, missile defense, and France’s nuclear capabilities.
According to Der Spiegel, the steering group is already planning joint exercises to prepare for emergency scenarios. Bundeswehr personnel may participate in the conventional component of French nuclear exercises and gain access to French nuclear facilities.
The first participation of German personnel in such exercises is reportedly expected in September 2026.
The German government views the French nuclear umbrella as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, US nuclear deterrence within NATO.
In addition to Germany, France is seeking closer nuclear-deterrence cooperation with the United Kingdom, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Greece.
According to the report, nine European countries have already expressed interest in French nuclear protection, including Norway, Poland, and Lithuania.
However, the participating countries are still at an early stage of negotiations with Paris and have yet to determine how France’s nuclear capabilities could be integrated into Europe’s broader security architecture.
“We still need to discuss in more detail how France’s nuclear weapons can strengthen European security,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.
🇪🇺 The EU is considering freezing the maximum price for Russian oil to prevent Moscow from benefiting from rising oil prices caused by the war in the Middle East, Bloomberg reports.
The proposal would temporarily suspend the automatic adjustment of the Russian oil price cap.
Last year, the EU adopted a dynamic mechanism under which the price cap is recalculated every six months and set 15% below the average market price of Russia’s Urals crude.
The current cap stands at $44.10 per barrel. European companies are prohibited from insuring or transporting Russian oil sold above that threshold.
However, Urals crude has risen significantly in price since the beginning of the year amid supply concerns linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, the next review in July could raise the cap to at least $65 per barrel, exceeding the previous $60 limit agreed upon by the G7.
The EU is therefore considering several alternatives, including:
▫️ suspending the automatic adjustment mechanism until the end of the year;
▫️ limiting any increase to $60 per barrel.
The discussions are part of preparations for the EU’s 21st sanctions package against Russia.
The proposed measures also include:
▫️ sanctions against additional banks, oil traders, refineries, and cryptocurrency operators in third countries that Moscow uses to circumvent restrictions;
▫️ sanctions on around 20 tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet;
▫️ trade restrictions on critical minerals, metals, and ores used by Russia’s aerospace sector and drone industry;
▫️ expanded export controls on about 20 companies from China, India, Türkiye, and Central Asia accused of supplying Russia with sanctioned goods and equipment used in weapons production.
According to sources, the main goals of the package are to further reduce Russia’s energy revenues, weaken its financial sector, and limit supplies to its military-industrial complex.
At the same time, a full ban on Russian seaborne oil is unlikely to be included, as several EU member states remain concerned about instability in the Middle East.
The EU is also discussing possible entry bans for individuals who participated in Russia’s war against Ukraine on the side of the aggressor.
🔶 Six people were injured in a massive Russian drone attack on the Odesa region, two of whom were hospitalized, according to the head of the regional military administration Oleh Kiper.
“Residential and industrial infrastructure were hit.
In Odesa, an enemy UAV struck the first floor of a high-rise residential building.
As a result of the attack, apartments, facades, and balconies from the first to the fourth floors were partially destroyed. Windows were shattered, and nearby parked vehicles were damaged. Two residents were injured.
Another three people were injured after a UAV struck residential buildings, destroying apartments and causing a fire.
Hits were also recorded on warehouses, a hangar containing wheat, and a non-operational administrative building. One person was injured.
All relevant services are working at the scene. Efforts to eliminate the consequences of the attack are ongoing,” Kiper said.