{"text":[[{"start":6.75,"text":"Ukraine has sharply escalated its campaign against Russian merchant shipping in the Sea of Azov, stepping up efforts to disrupt fuel supplies to occupied Crimea."}],[{"start":16.5,"text":"Kyiv’s military said on Tuesday it had struck eight small fuel tankers supplying the peninsula, including several under western sanctions, after hitting two larger vessels from Russia’s so-called shadow fleet on Monday."}],[{"start":28.65,"text":"The attacks marked “the highest number of merchant vessels targeted within a 48-hour window since the start of the renewed Russian invasion”, according to maritime security consultancy Ambrey."}],[{"start":39.599999999999994,"text":"“The battle for fuel bound for Crimea across the Sea of Azov continues,” Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s unmanned forces, said in a Telegram post on Tuesday."}],[{"start":50.199999999999996,"text":"His drone forces said they had struck 21 enemy vessels over the past 72 hours: 19 shadow fleet tankers, one cargo ship and a ferry in Kerch, the Crimean port city linked to mainland Russia by the bridge Vladimir Putin ordered built after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of the peninsula."}],[{"start":71,"text":"The fuel tankers, which are under international sanctions and are part of Russia’s shadow fleet, were built between 2006 and 2012, according to Brovdi."}],[{"start":81,"text":"Ambrey warned that reciprocal attacks from Russia on Ukrainian shipping were a “realistic possibility”."}],[{"start":87.5,"text":"The Yasa Polaris, a tanker chartered by the oil company Chevron, was hit on Wednesday at the eastern end of the Black Sea in a drone attack, according to two people with knowledge of the situation."}],[{"start":98.1,"text":"The vessel had been due to lift a cargo of Kazakh oil, one person said."}],[{"start":102.8,"text":"Chevron said in a statement that it was aware “of an incident involving a vessel inbound to Caspian Pipeline Consortium loading facilities at Novorossiysk. All crew are safe, and the vessel remains stable”."}],[{"start":115.7,"text":"The ship was proceeding to a safe port, it said."}],[{"start":118.8,"text":"Ukrainian deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba wrote to the International Maritime Organization last week arguing that sanctioned Russian vessels were a legitimate target."}],[{"start":129.45,"text":"The escalation in attacks on tankers comes as Ukraine has broadened its drone campaign against targets in occupied Crimea and deep inside Russia. Strikes on refineries and port facilities have contributed to fuel shortages, prompting authorities in Crimea to impose rationing. "}],[{"start":145.29999999999998,"text":"Last month, Moscow-installed officials temporarily halted gasoline sales to private motorists to preserve supplies for emergency services and government agencies. On Sunday, Crimea’s energy ministry said about 100 filling stations had resumed sales to the public."}],[{"start":161.45,"text":"In 2025, Ukraine was estimated to have struck about a dozen shadow-fleet vessels — tankers under sanctions that typically transport Russian cargoes — while Russia has attacked more than 200 commercial vessels since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022."}],[{"start":177.35,"text":"Moscow accused Kyiv of “terrorism” in a letter to the International Maritime Organization in early June over an attack on the Russian-flagged LNG tanker “Arctic Metagaz” in the Mediterranean in March. But Kuleba argued Russian oil and gas carriers were “critical to the generation of budget revenues for the Russian Federation and the continuation of its war effort”."}],[{"start":201.95,"text":"Ukrainian attacks targeted the port of Kavkaz last month and Tuapse in May. Russia has continued attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, including Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny."}],[{"start":214.7,"text":"The maritime campaign has unfolded against the backdrop of a rapidly expanding shadow fleet. Shipbrokers estimate the network of tankers used to circumvent sanctions by Russia, Iran and Venezuela now amounts to more than 1,500 vessels. "}],[{"start":230.85,"text":"Because international law generally prevents states from boarding ships sailing under a recognised flag, the EU and UK have stepped up pressure on registries, including Barbados, Panama and Cameroon, to deregister shadow fleet vessels, allowing them to be intercepted as stateless ships. "}],[{"start":248.75,"text":"Last month, Britain seized a shadow fleet tanker carrying Russian cargo in the English Channel while France intercepted another in the Mediterranean."}],[{"start":257.5,"text":"Additional reporting by Christopher Miller in Kyiv"}],[{"start":267.45,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783558242_8753.mp3"}