Ukraine's military intelligence identifies 11 more captains of Russia's shadow fleet

The Main Directorate of Intelligence (DIU) of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has exposed 11 more Russian captains and 31 ships tied to schemes bypassing sanctions on Russian oil exports, the military intelligence reported on Telegram.

Among them are Ivan Nikiforov, captain of the tanker KOTLAS, and Konstantin Kovalenko, captain of CORUS, both affiliated with the sanctioned Russian firm Sovcomflot. These captains violate the price cap policy on Russian oil, the DIU stated.

According to the agency, Nikiforov and Kovalenko possess critical knowledge about the tankers’ real owners, technical conditions, cargo value, and routes.

They orchestrate tactics like disabling or tampering with navigation systems, falsifying location data and logbooks, and conducting risky ship-to-ship oil transfers at sea to dodge sanctions.

"These actions not only fuel Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine but also pose a threat of global ecological catastrophe," the Defense Intelligence warned.

The latest disclosures bring the tally on the War & Sanctions portal to 100 identified Russian captains and 782 shadow fleet vessels.

The portal expanded on December 12, 2024, to track the global shadow fleet, which generates billions for aggressor states like Russia while endangering environmental security.

On February 26, 2025, DIU and other components of the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck a seaport and oil refinery in Russia’s Tuapse.