Zelensky enacts NSDC sanctions against russian shadow fleet and kidnappers of Ukrainian culture

“I have just signed a decree that gives effect to the decision of the National Security and Defense Council following the meeting held the day before. Everything has been worked out in detail,” he said.

The relevant decrees No. 67/2025 and No. 68/2025 have been published on the website of the President's Office. All sanctions will be in effect for 10 years.

The “shadow fleet” sanctions package includes 56 russian citizens and one Iranian citizen who are captains of russian “shadow fleet” vessels (mostly sanctioned) and are involved in the export of russian oil bypassing the price ceiling by transshipment of oil at sea and other illegal activities.

The list includes, in particular, the captains of Liberty Mykola Tsoma, Bolero Hryhoriy Motaylenko, Cassiopeia Oleksandr Yurpalov, and Callisto Oleksandr Filkin. All of these tankers are subject to US, UK and EU sanctions, and their operator is the sanctioned russian company Sovcomflot, which is also subject to US and UK sanctions.

Sanctions were also imposed against Yevhen Bezrukov, captain of the Moti tanker, operated by Gatik Ship Management, one of the largest shipowners of the “shadow fleet”, Igor Kucherov, captain of the Fjord Seal tanker, operated by Prominent Shipmanagement Limited (registered in Hong Kong), and Iranian citizen Ali Mohseni, captain of the Daksha tanker, operated by Oceanlink Maritime DMCC (registered in the UAE).

Sanctions are also being imposed against russians responsible for the destruction of Ukrainian cultural identity through illegal archaeological excavations in the temporarily occupied Crimea and the export of cultural property from the territory of Ukraine.

In particular, they included First Deputy Minister of Culture Sergey Obryvalin, Deputy Minister Vladimir Osintsev, Head of the Department of State Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture Roman Rybalo, and Director of the sanctioned Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolai Makarov. They issued permits for illegal archaeological excavations in Crimea.

Sanctions were also imposed on Mikhail Piotrovsky, President of the Union of Museums of russia, Director General of the sanctioned State Hermitage Museum, Yelizaveta Likhacheva, Director of the sanctioned Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, and Sergey Solovyov, Head of Archaeological Expeditions, who was directly involved in illegal excavations on the territory of Chersonesos Tavriya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Among the persons with dual citizenship (18 people in total), sanctions were imposed, in particular, on the First Deputy “Minister of Culture of the Republic of Crimea” Olga Burova, appointed to this position by the occupation administration, and the director of the Melitopol Museum of Local Lore Yevhen Horlachov, who passed on information to the russians about the location of the “Scythian Gold” and received an order from the occupation authorities for this.

The sanctions also targeted Elzara Khayredinova, head of the Department of History and Archeology of Ancient and Medieval Crimea at the sanctioned Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, who heads an illegal archeological expedition in the occupied territory of Crimea.

Museums illegally registered in the occupied territories under russian law that operate on the basis of expropriated cultural property: “State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve “Chersonesos Tavriya”, “East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve”, “Central Museum of Tavrida”.

Source: Suspilne