Europe has a chance to strike at the Kremlin’s lifelines, if it dares to act. Around 70% of the “shadow fleet” transporting Russian oil sails through the Baltic Sea, said Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha at a joint press conference with Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, UkrInform reports.
The Russian “shadow fleet” consists of grey-market tankers that evade international sanctions. These tankers often sail with transponders turned off, without proper insurance, and conc
Europe has a chance to strike at the Kremlin’s lifelines, if it dares to act. Around 70% of the “shadow fleet” transporting Russian oil sails through the Baltic Sea, said Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha at a joint press conference with Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, UkrInform reports.
The Russian “shadow fleet” consists of grey-market tankers that evade international sanctions. These tankers often sail with transponders turned off, without proper insurance, and conceal their identities. This fleet channels Russian oil exports to China, India, and Global South countries, helping Moscow fund its war. Shutting down this corridor, through port controls and insurance restrictions, could deal a serious blow to the Kremlin’s energy revenues.
“Let me remind you that about 70% of the shadow fleet that transports Russian oil passes through the Baltic Sea. There’s still untapped potential here, in my view, among our European partners — particularly the Baltic Sea states,” Sybiha emphasized.
Sanctions must target not just oil, but war criminals too
Sybiha also urged Western partners to impose targeted individual sanctions on Russian officials involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children and unlawful sentences against Ukrainian POWs.
Poland’s leadership role in the Baltic region
With Poland set to chair the Council of the Baltic Sea States, Sybiha said Warsaw has a chance to spearhead efforts to dismantle the Kremlin’s shadow oil network.
“Now is the time for active diplomacy, pressure, and accountability,” he stressed.
The informal gathering of the Ukrainian and Polish foreign ministers took place at Sikorski’s residence in Kobylniki, in Poland’s Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Discussions covered a wide range of topics, from international support for Ukraine to humanitarian issues and protecting Ukrainian citizens.
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Hungary helps Russia by routing helicopter repairs through Kazakhstan while sourcing spare parts from Moscow, InformNapalm reports. InformNapalm is a volunteer intelligence community known for cyber operations exposing Russian military networks. Their latest release reveals a Hungarian company, Milspace Kft, offering a sanctions workaround for Russia’s Mil Design Bureau — the producer of Mi-series helicopters actively used against Ukrainian troops.
The leak comes amid the ongoing Russian invasio
Hungary helps Russia by routing helicopter repairs through Kazakhstan while sourcing spare parts from Moscow, InformNapalm reports. InformNapalm is a volunteer intelligence community known for cyber operations exposing Russian military networks. Their latest release reveals a Hungarian company, Milspace Kft, offering a sanctions workaround for Russia’s Mil Design Bureau — the producer of Mi-series helicopters actively used against Ukrainian troops.
The leak comes amid the ongoing Russian invasion, with Russia under severe international sanctions aimed at crippling its war machine. Yet Russia has devised multiple schemes to evade these restrictions.
Leaked document exposes Hungary’s Milspace Kft in sanction evasion scheme
InformNapalm, working with the Militant Intelligence group, disclosed new data from the OpsHackRussia’sDay cyber operation. The dataset comes from hacked corporate correspondence of Russian defense industry companies. The latest document shows that Milspace Kft sent an official proposal to the Mexican company Personas y Paquetes Por Aire SA de CV. In this letter, Milspace Kft explains that Russian helicopter factories are under sanctions and offers a route to bypass these restrictions.
The leaked letter states:
“The Russian factory in Kazan, Mil Design Bureau and Holding of Russian Helicopters are under sanctions because of Ukrainen (original spelling, – Ed.) war. So, nobody can work with them directly. But we found a solution”
Milspace Kft proposes to act as the formal contractor while repairs would be done in a Kazakhstan plant licensed by Mil Design Bureau.
“Our Milspace is authorized organization of licensed by Mil Design Bureau repairing plant in Kazahstan. We are ready to participate in process of overhaul for your helicopters,” the leaked letter reads.
Spare parts would come from Moscow, specifically from Mi-INTER Ltd. The work would be supervised and coordinated with Mil Design Bureau and Russian Helicopters, both parts of Rostec, a large Russian state-owned conglomerate.
“Every of these organizations ready to participate in our repairing process, so the start was made successfully,” the document states.
In June, InformNapalm and the Militant Intelligence group exposed a trove of hacked documents from JSC Russian Helicopters, revealing its global sanction evasion network, with international contracts, supply routes, and payments linking the sanctioned manufacturer to partners and intermediaries from India to Egypt, Algeria, Indonesia, and beyond.
Evidence links Hungary to Russian helicopter support
InformNapalm reports that this letter details a service package worth $92,000. The plan includes a team of four “to carry out troubleshooting work on airframe and helicopters under a separate contract.”
The leaked correspondence shows that Hungary helps Russia through these indirect arrangements, even as the EU and NATO enforce sanctions.
Leaked letter from Hungarian company Milspace Kft to a Mexican firm describes a plan to bypass sanctions by repairing Russian helicopters through a plant in Kazakhstan with spare parts from Moscow. Source: Inform Napalm.
“Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has consistently shown loyalty to the Kremlin, delaying EU sanctions and blocking military aid to Ukraine through NATO and EU structures. Therefore, Milspace Kft’s involvement in these operations aligns with Budapest’s geopolitical position, which often conflicts with the core interests of both the EU and NATO,” Inform Napalm says.
Risks for EU and NATO security
InformNapalm warns that Hungary’s involvement undermines NATO collective security. The practice ensures that sanctioned Russian helicopters remain operational, despite restrictions. This leak also highlights a broader pattern of using Kazakhstan as a hub for maintaining Russian equipment, similar to previous findings from the #SU30Leaks series.
Hacktivists call on journalists and European officials to investigate these sanction evasion networks before they grow further. They note that more documents from the OpsHackRussiasDay operation will follow.
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The company EasyStaff, founded by Russians in Vilnius, has transferred over €50 million to Russia while facilitating the hiring of Russian freelancers by Western companies, LTR reports.
As Western governments work to block financial flows to Russia, certain business entities exploit loopholes, undermining the effectiveness of global sanctions.
Founded in 2020 by Russian citizens Vitaly Mikhailov and Yevgeny Fedorov, EasyStaff brands itself as a global freelancing platform. In reality, however
The company EasyStaff, founded by Russians in Vilnius, has transferred over €50 million to Russia while facilitating the hiring of Russian freelancers by Western companies, LTR reports.
As Western governments work to block financial flows to Russia, certain business entities exploit loopholes, undermining the effectiveness of global sanctions.
Founded in 2020 by Russian citizens Vitaly Mikhailov and Yevgeny Fedorov, EasyStaff brands itself as a global freelancing platform. In reality, however, it may act as a mechanism that may allow EU and US sanctions to be circumvented.
EasyStaff utilizes alternative payment methods such as PayPal, Skrill, card transactions, and cryptocurrency, thereby bypassing SWIFT restrictions.
According to Lithuania’s State Data Agency, imports of computer services from Russia rose from €2.64 million in 2023 to over €56 million in 2024, which is nearly twice the pre-pandemic level. Yet when contacted by LRT’s investigative team, no government agency could initially explain this surge.
Eventually, the reporters discovered that most of the €56 million traced back to a single company: EasyStaff.
Though EasyStaff presents itself as a global platform helping companies hire and pay foreign freelancers, in practice it serves as a bridge for EU and US businesses seeking to contract Russian workers without direct interaction with sanctioned banks.
Mikhailov insists the platform is globally oriented and denies that Russians form its main client base.
When asked whether EasyStaff helps Russian firms navigate sanctions, Mikhailov replied that the company breaks no laws and works only with non-sanctioned banks. He added that EasyStaff consults with two law firms to ensure full compliance with restrictions and claimed that clients choose the company for its efficiency, not to evade sanctions.
Since EasyStaff lacks a payment institution license in Lithuania, it is not regulated by the Bank of Lithuania. A spokesperson for the central bank noted that EasyStaff appears to function more like a marketplace for service contracts than a payment processor.
Lithuania’s Financial Crime Investigation Service has confirmed awareness of the company but said it has detected any threats.
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Beijing continues fueling Russia’s war against Ukraine. Chinese companies are supplying engines for attack drones through front companies, falsely labeling them as “industrial refrigeration units” to bypass Western sanctions, Reuters reports.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi openly says Beijing, Moscow’s top economic ally, cannot allow Russia to lose in its war against Ukraine. China fears that such an outcome would allow the US to fully pivot its attention to Beijing.
According to the report, R
Beijing continues fueling Russia’s war against Ukraine. Chinese companies are supplying engines for attack drones through front companies, falsely labeling them as “industrial refrigeration units” to bypass Western sanctions, Reuters reports.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi openly says Beijing, Moscow’s top economic ally, cannot allow Russia to lose in its war against Ukraine. China fears that such an outcome would allow the US to fully pivot its attention to Beijing.
According to the report, Russian arms producer IEMZ Kupol signed a contract with Russia’s Ministry of Defense to manufacture over 6,000 Garpia-A1 drones in 2025, which is three times more than the previous year.
By April, over 1,500 drones had already been assembled and were being launched en masse against Ukrainian military and civilian targets, up to 500 per month, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence.
A key component of the Garpia drone is the Chinese L550E engine produced by Xiamen Limbach Aviation Engine Co. After sanctions were imposed on Xiamen, a new Chinese firm, Beijing Xichao International Technology and Trade, began delivering the same engines to Russia.
In shipping documents, they were labeled as cooling units, enabling unimpeded transfer in violation of sanctions.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented 232 civilian deaths and 1,343injuries in June 2025, marking the highest monthly casualty toll in three years as Russian forces launched ten times more missile strikes and drone attacks than in June 2024.
The supply route ran through a network of shell companies: from Beijing to Moscow, and then to Izhevsk, where the Kupol plant is located. According to sources in three EU intelligence services, the shipments first went to a firm called SMP-138, then to another company, LIBSS, which delivered the engines directly to the factory. This is how “refrigerators” became weapons.
Despite repeated warnings, Chinese airlines, including Sichuan Airlines and China Southern Airlines, continued transporting drone components since at least October 2024.
Previously, US Army Europe and NATO Allied Forces Supreme Commander General Alexus Grynkewich warned that American and its European allies likely have only a year and a half to prepare for a potential global military conflict with China and Russia. The dictatorships may launch a coordinated strike in 2027.
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