While the governments of these countries are trying to support Ukraine, local companies are supporting the Russian oil business.
The Baltic states , Europe’s most ardent supporters of Ukraine and Russia’s opponents, are secretly aiding Russia’s shadow fleet, which transports sanctioned oil, financing Russian aggression, according to Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT .
Journalists conducted their own investigation into the activities of the Fast Bunkering network of companies operating in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia and specializing in refuelling ships at sea.
The investigation revealed that between June 2024 and March 2025, two refuelling vessels, Rina and Zircone, operated by the company, carried out 286 refuelling operations at various points in the Baltic Sea. Of these, at least 159 involved tankers that called at Russian ports shortly before or after the refuelling.
Anatoly Kravtsev, an analyst at the Kyiv School of Economics, who was consulted by journalists, determined that at the time of these refueling operations, at least 20 tankers showed clear signs of belonging to the Russian shadow fleet.
“In particular, these vessels did not have insurance coverage from any member of the International Group of P&I Clubs, and their owners and management companies were registered outside the jurisdiction of the Coalition to Cap Oil Prices,” Kravtsev said.
It is noted that formally, none of the tankers refueled were under direct sanctions at the time, but some were subsequently added to sanctions lists. Furthermore, there are strict protocols for refueling tankers carrying Russian oil: one of the rules is that these tankers must not belong to the shadow fleet, even the portion of it not included on the sanctions lists.
