Putin dealt major blow as UK intercepts first shadow fleet tanker

British forces have boarded an alleged Russian shadow fleet vessel for the first time in a 6-hour operation off England’s south coast. Royal Marine Commandos, alongside specially-trained law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency, boarded the Smyrtos vessel in the early hours of Sunday.

The interdiction in the English Channel was supported by Chinook, Merlin and Wildcast helicopters, an RAF P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, as well as the Royal Navy’s HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury.