Operation Irini in Mediterranean Sea will now also be conducted against Russian shadow fleet – Kallas
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas reported on the expansion of the EU military operation Irini, which is conducted in the Mediterranean Sea, to include ships of the Russian shadow fleet.
"On the freedom of navigation or maritime security, as such, we will also discuss the Shadow Fleet. Our Operation IRINI has changed the rules of engagement and has now started to board the ships as well. So also, the idea is to change the best practices, what different countries are doing with those ships, because it is really posing a danger, and of course also the idea is to curb Russia from the funding of this war," Kallas said on Monday upon arrival in Cyprus, where an informal meeting of EU defense ministers is taking place.
According to her, Nicosia will host discussions on "what else we can do to help Ukraine, and also how to really make our defense industries work together."
"This is what the ministers will discuss. We also have various proposals on the table that we can move forward with," she said.
The EU High Representative also noted the need to increase pressure on Russia and support Ukraine, pointing to the escalation of Russian attacks. "They should first start with a ceasefire to sit down at the negotiation table. But at the same time we also see some movement inside Russia that they are not happy with this war continuing. That is why we need to put more pressure on them, and also increase our support for Ukraine," Kallas said.
In addition, the EU diplomat said that following the change of government leadership in Hungary, "We are moving on with the unblocking of the €6.6 billion in the European Peace Facility. So we are actually discussing today, also, how to make use of those funds. As you know, the initial idea was to have the reimbursement for the contributions, to have the burden sharing. But of course now is also the question whether it should be focused on more giving the aid to Ukraine or actually reimbursements for those contributions that have been already made. So we have put forward a proposal, a compromise that takes into account both sides, but I think the unblocking of the EUR 6.6 billion is a very, very important step that we are working on,"
She noted that regarding these funds, "discussions are still ongoing": "We have submitted this proposal, the member states must agree, and then we can move forward, so I cannot predict the timeline."
At the same time, when asked about monitoring Ukraine’s use of these funds, the EU diplomat replied that this "has been discussed for quite a long time.""There are people who say that we should have clear conditions, and we have clear conditions when it comes to purchasing of the capabilities. We also have clear conditions when it comes to the reforms that they have to make. But at the same time, what we are stressing all the time is that the urgent needs of Ukraine need to be the utmost priority, because they need to defend themselves and their air defense system most importantly," she said.
Regarding negotiations to end the war, Kallas emphasized that "We have to keep our core European interests also in mind, because there are also some issues that are concerning us when it comes to sanctions relief, when it comes to unfreezing of the assets, and for that we also need to see some European core security interests respected, and in those five points that the E3 was also putting forward, the European core security interests are mentioned. I recall that last week we had the discussion with the Foreign Ministers, on what these core interests are, what our asks for Russia are. So, I hope that these are all taken into account."
The EU Naval Force Mediterranean Operation Irini was launched on March 31, 2020, involving air, sea, and satellite assets. Its primary mission was to enforce the UN arms embargo on Libya. In March 2025, the operation’s mandate was expanded to include monitoring, surveillance, and information gathering on additional illicit activities beyond arms and oil trafficking. Currently, its mandate runs until the end of March 2027.