BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Monday slapped sanctions on five businessmen linked to Russian state-owned oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft and targeted companies accused of circumventing sanctions on Russian oil by running ships for Moscow's shadow fleet of aging oil tankers.
Oil revenue is a key part of Russia’s economy, allowing President Vladimir Putin to pour money into the war effort against Ukraine without worsening inflation for everyday people and avoiding a currency collapse.
Member countries, notably France, have vowed to crack down on the sanction-busting shadow fleet which experts estimate numbers over 400 ships. They are also trying to secure deals with flag-carrying countries to make it easier to board the vessels.
EU headquarters said the businessmen “control vessels transporting crude oil or petroleum products, originating in Russia or being exported from Russia, concealing the actual origin of the oil, while practicing irregular and high-risk shipping practices.”
The four shipping companies targeted are based in the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Russia. A statement said they own or manage shadow fleet tankers under sanctions and which transport oil “while practicing irregular and high-risk shipping practices.”
The sanctions, which were agreed at a meeting of the 27-nation bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels, involve mostly asset freezes and travel bans.
The EU move adds to growing pressure on the shadow fleet. Last month, Ukraine used domestically produced Sea Baby naval drones to strike two more Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea. Both were under international sanctions.
Separately, the bloc imposed sanctions on members of Russia’s military intelligence agency, GRU, and a hacking group known as Cadet Blizzard, accusing them of cyber attacks targeting Ukraine, the EU and unnamed NATO allies.
The EU also added a number of foreign policy analysts and influencers accused of promoting pro-Russian propaganda or conspiracy theories to its sanctions list.
From right, Slovenia's Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno and Portugal's Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel speak during a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Belgium's Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot, second left, speaks with from left, Latvia's Foreign Minister Baiba Braze, Slovenia's Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, Romania's Foreign Minister Oana-Silvia Toiu, European Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Hadja Lahbib and Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno during a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas rings a bell to signify the start of a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Additional police were sent to Providence schools on Tuesday to reassure worried parents that their kids will be safe with the Brown University shooter on the loose and no indication yet that investigators have zeroed in on a specific suspect.
Authorities on Monday released several new videos of the man suspected in Saturday's mass shooting inside of a Brown classroom, which killed two students and wounded nine others. After releasing a person of interest in the case because the evidence pointed elsewhere, they once again pleaded with the public for any tips that might help them catch the attacker.
Tensions remain high in Providence. With the investigation in its third day Monday, officers were still knocking on doors and poring through dumpsters and backyards near the Ivy League campus in search of additional video evidence or other clues.
But some locals expressed defiance.
“Of course it feels scary. But at the same time, I think that if the person really wanted to scare us, we shouldn’t allow him or her to win," said Tatjana Stojanovic, a Providence parent who lives next door to the Brown campus. "Despite all of that, we should just go about our lives. I mean, obviously, you cannot forget this. But I think we shouldn’t cower and just sort of stop living despite what has happened.
In the five videos authorities have released of the suspect, he was wearing a mask or his face was turned. The FBI described him as about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall, with a stocky build.
The attack and the shooter's escape have raised questions about campus security, including a lack of security cameras, and led to calls for better locks on campus doors. Others pushed back, though, saying such efforts do little to address the real issue.
“The issue isn’t the doors, it’s the guns,” said Zoe Kass, a senior at Brown. “And all of this, like, ‘Oh, the doors need to be locked.’ I get it, parents are scared. But any of us could have opened the door for the guy if the doors had been locked.”
After spending of her life in schools where every door was locked and school shootings continued to persist, Kass said such security measures only created “the illusion of safety.”
Meanwhile, details have emerged about the victims, who were in the first-floor classroom in the school's engineering building studying for a final.
Only one of the wounded students had been released as of Sunday, Brown President Christina Paxson said. One was in critical condition and the other seven were in critical but stable condition.
One of the wounded students, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New York City, told the New York Times and the Brown Daily Herald that there was a mad scramble after the gunman entered the room. Many students ran toward the front, but Yang said he wound up on the ground between some seats and was shot in the leg. He expected to be discharged within days.
Jacob Spears, 18, a freshman from Evans, Georgia, was shot in the stomach, “but through sheer adrenaline and courage, he managed to run outside, where he was aided by others," according to a GoFundMe site organized for him.
Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore who was one of the two students killed, was vice president of the Brown College Republicans and was beloved in her church in Birmingham, Alabama. In announcing her death Sunday, the Rev. R. Craig Smalley described her as “an incredible grounded, faithful, bright light” who encouraged and “lifted up those around her.”
The other student killed was, MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, who was majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience. His family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan when he was a kid.
As a child, Umurzokov suffered a neurological condition that required surgery, and he later wore a back brace because of scoliosis, his sister Samira Umurzokova told The Associated Press by phone. He knew from an early age that he wanted to be a neurosurgeon to help others like him.
“He had so many hardships in his life, and he got into this amazing school and tried so hard to follow through with the promise he made when was 7 years old,” she said.
Contributing were Associated Press journalists Jennifer McDermott and Matt O'Brien in Providence; Brian Slodysko in Washington; Michael Casey in Boston; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas.
A memorial of flowers and signs lay outside the Barus and Holley engineering building at Brown University, on Hope Street in Providence, R.I., on Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt OBrien)
Brown University senior Zoe Kass and her boyfriend return to the engineering building they fled Saturday to leave flowers on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Matt OBrien)
A classroom in Brown University's Barus and Holley building is pictured two days after a shooting occurred inside the building. in Providence, R.I., Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)
This combo image made with photos provided by the FBI and the Providence, Rhode Island, Police Department shows a person of interest in the shooting that occurred at Brown University in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI/Providence Police Department via AP)
A makeshift memorial is seen on the campus of Brown University, close to from the scene of the shooting, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team search for evidence near the campus of Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Visitors pause at a makeshift memorial for the victims of Saturday's shooting, at the Van Wickle Gate at Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
