France seizes Russian cargo ship on English Channel

France seizes Russian cargo ship in the English Channel France on Saturday intercepted a Russian vessel in the English Channel in line with new EU sanctions against Moscow.

It is “suspected of belonging to a Russian company that is currently on a sanctions list by the EU,” the press office of the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel confirmed to NBC News. The Russian RIA news agency said that the Russian embassy in France had immediately contacted the French authorities for clarification.

French customs agents are currently aboard the boat carrying out an investigation to see if it has violated the sanctions, according to NBC News. The United States and its European allies have decided to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin directly due to the Russia invasion of Ukraine this week.

They will also look to “weaken Russia’s economic base and its capacity to modernize” and “freeze Russian assets in the EU and stop the access of Russian banks to the European financial market,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Meanwhile in Kyiv on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the capital had managed to repel Russian attacks overnight and his army was still in control.