The Trump administration is not preventing Ukraine's attacks on Russia's "shadow fleet" of tankers that circumvent Western sanctions on oil supplies, according to the American publication The Atlantic, citing senior officials in Washington and Kyiv.

According to the publication, five explosions on such vessels have been recorded in 13 days since the end of November 2025: three occurred off the Russian coast of the Black Sea, one off the northern coast of Turkey, and another on the west coast of Africa. The Security Service of Ukraine claimed responsibility for three of the attacks.

The White House declined to comment on these incidents, but a US official noted that the administration had no objection to such actions. Trump previously approved sanctions against two of Russia's largest oil companies in October and supported efforts to undermine its energy economy. Furthermore, the US provided Kyiv with intelligence to target Russian energy infrastructure, including refineries deep in its territory.