According to the Guardian, British armed forces intercepted a vessel from Russia’s shadow fleet in the English Channel in the early hours of Sunday. Royal Marine commandos and officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) boarded the oil tanker during a six-hour operation. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the deployment.
The tanker, named Smyrtos, is being held off the south coast of England and monitored for security and environmental reasons while investigations continue, the MoD said. Keir Starmer stated: “This operation delivers another blow to Putin’s war in Ukraine and reminds those who finance it that they cannot hide.”
The new Dan Jarvis praised the operation: “Operations like this require skill, professionalism, and courage. I commend our armed forces and everyone involved. Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund its war in Ukraine – our intervention strikes Putin’s illegal war.”
The operation comes days after the resignations of former defence procurement minister Al Carns and former John Healey. They had stepped down following a prolonged dispute over the Defence Plan (Dip), stating that the plan was seriously underfunded and insufficient to protect Britain in such a volatile time.
EuroPulse reported on June 9, 2026, about a knife attack in Belfast in which a man was seriously injured and Starmer called the act “disgusting”: Man stabbed in Belfast – Starmer: “disgusting”.
Source: www.theguardian.com
