U.S. seizure of Russian tanker marks rare escalation in sanctions enforcement against "dark fleet," but experts say move unlikely to trigger confrontation.

The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said on Saturday that 600,000 residents were without electricity, heating and water after a Ukrainian missile strike. In a statement posted on Telegram,

Simon Migliano, who compiled the Top10VPN shutdown report, told me “Iran’s current nationwide blackout is a blunt instrument intended to crush dissent, starkly different from the sophisticated, slow-burn digital censorship we’re seeing in Russia.”

Ukraine's commander in chief said December was the first month that its drones "neutralized" roughly as many Russians as were called up.

Russia on Thursday slammed a plan for European peacekeepers to be deployed to Ukraine as "dangerous", branding Kyiv and its allies an "axis of war" and dousing hopes it could be a step towards ending the almost four-year-long war.

Russia said on Wednesday that the U.S. seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic was a violation of maritime law, and a senior lawmaker described it as "outright piracy".

Lloyd's List is tracking an "acceleration" of Russian-flag tankers involved in the movement of Venezuelan-sanctioned oil. New data on the shadow fleet shows an increasing number of tankers are seeking the protection of Moscow by changing their flag of registration to Russia.