John Healey, UK Defence Minister, said that Britain had provided tracking and?monitoring?support to a French operation to a board a sanctioned Russian oil tanker to choke off?the funds which fuel Russia's incursion into Ukraine.

Healey stated that a vessel called HMS Dagger was monitoring the tanker while it passed through Gibraltar Strait. The tanker named 'the GRINCH' is subject to UK sanctions and European sanctions because it facilitates trade in'sanctioned oil. It forms part of a network of so-called shadow-fleet.

Healey stated in a press release that "deterring, disrupting?and degrading" the Russian shadow fleet was a top priority for her government.

"I can confirm that the UK provided tracking and monitoring support to the French operation to board tanker Grinch."

He said Britain, along with its allies, were intensifying their response against so-called "shadow fleet" vessels that he said helped finance the war waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin against Ukraine.

Earlier on Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron stated that the French?Navy boarded a Russian oil tanker that was under international sanctions and suspected to be flying?a fake flag.

He said the operation took place on the high seas of the Mediterranean, with the support of several allies in strict accordance with the UN Convention?on the Law of the Sea.

The French president stated that a judicial investigation had been opened, and the vessel was diverted. France is determined to impose sanctions.

The Ministry of Defence of Britain said that it regularly tracks Russian shadow fleet activity and shares this information with its allies. It also added that 544 of these vessels have been sanctioned by the country to date.

(source: Reuters)