Britain now 'ready' to seize Russian shadow fleet ships, Healey says

British forces are now "ready to act" to board and detain ships in Russia's so-called shadow fleet in UK waters, the defence secretary has said. Russia has been accused of operating ships without a valid national flag to avoid sanctions on oil and help fund its war in Ukraine. Ministers identified a legal basis in January that would allow forces to board sanctioned vessels, but approval for the military measure was not given by the prime minister until Thursday. Questioned on why that decision had not come sooner, John Healey told BBC Radio 4's Today programme "what operations like this require is training, preparation, understanding discussion with allies [and] a clear legal basis". Healey said these points were now "lined up and ready" and the decision represented "a signal that we will take action when we see illegal and sanctioned shadow ships". "This is a signal to Putin that he may want us to be distracted by the Middle East but we're ready to act," he added. Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the UK's decision to seize sanctioned vessels was a "timely move, particularly now when global pressure on Russia is quietly loosening". "It is hardly a secret that Russia funne