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France releases suspected Russia ‘shadow fleet’ tanker after fine of ‘several million euros’
France released a tanker suspected of being part of Russia’s sanctions-busting “shadow fleet” called “Grinch” after its owner paid a fine of several million euros, a minister said in comments reported by AFP.
French forces and their allies boarded the oil tanker last month between Spain and Morocco after it started its journey in Russia, before escorting it to a port outside the southern city of Marseille.
“The tanker ‘Grinch’ is leaving French waters after paying several million euros and enduring a costly three-week immobilisation in Fos-sur-Mer,” foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on X.
“Evading European sanctions comes at a price. Russia will no longer be able to bankroll its war with impunity through a shadow fleet off our shores,” he added.
Key events
Spain to investigate social media firms over AI-generated child sexual abuse material
Sam Jones in Madrid and Rory Carroll in Dublin
In other news, the Spanish government will ask prosecutors to investigate the social media companies X, Meta and TikTok to determine whether they have committed criminal offences by allegedly allowing their AI to generate and disseminate child sexual abuse material.
Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said his government had taken the decision in order to protect “the mental health, dignity and rights of our sons and daughters” and to end the “impunity” of huge social media platforms.
The government said it was taking action on the basis of an expert report that had analysed “the potential criminal liability of increasingly widespread practices in the digital environment, such as the generation and dissemination of sexual content and child sexual abuse through deepfakes and the manipulation of real images to create others with explicit sexual content, thereby undermining the dignity of the victims”.
The report warned of the potential involvement of social media firms in these acts because they allow “their massive dissemination with a speed and opacity that greatly hinders detection and prosecution, while also facilitating the formation of networks that produce, share, and monetise this content”.
The move, agreed by the cabinet on Tuesday, was announced as the Sánchez administration prepares a series of measures that will include a social media ban for under-16s and legislation to hold tech companies responsible for hateful and harmful content.
It also comes less than a month after the European Commission launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s X over the production of sexually explicit images and the spreading of possible child sexual abuse material by the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok.
On Tuesday, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) – which monitors tech companies with European headquarters in Dublin – said the “large-scale” inquiry will focus on the generative artificial intelligence functionality associated with the Grok large language model.
First pictures from Russia-Ukraine-US talks in Geneva
Russia-Ukraine-US talks in Geneva get under way
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators on Tuesday began US-brokered talks in Geneva seeking to end the four-year war, AFP just reported, via the two delegations.
Trump won’t bomb Greenland, Greenlandic PM reassures children
Greenlandic prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen is back in Nuuk today and answering some questions on his return from the Munich Security Conference.
But as the Danish broadcaster DR reports, he is taking them not from journalists, but… from local kids.
Many of their questions relate to the ongoing crisis in relations with the US, with one student asking directly if Greenland could be bombarded by US president Donald Trump.
In response, via DR, he said:
“No. … I don’t think there is a very high probability that Trump will do something like that, but I can certainly understand that you are worried. It may all sound very worrying, but we should not be afraid in this country.”
In another response, he also signalled him impatience with the US president, asking – as per DR – “when will he get it … [and] stop saying all these things that cause so much worry and anxiety?” “I don’t know why he still does it,” he said.
France issues red flood alerts after ‘exceptional’ rainfall
Ajit Niranjan
Europe environment correspondent
Separately, France has issued red alerts for flooding in three départements as the aftermath of Storm Nils causes chaos across the country.
Flood waters have inundated homes and isolated villages after the Garonne River burst its banks, with hydrologists warning that rain is falling on soils that have hit record-breaking levels of saturation.
Météo France said red flood alerts would remain in place on Wednesday in Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne and Maine-et-Loire but the number of counties under orange alert would fall from 14 to 12.
Monique Barbut, minister for the ecological transition, said a state of emergency – necessary to fast-track insurance claims – would be declared once the floods had ended.
“People who follow climate issues have been warning us for a long time that events like this will happen more often,” she said on Tuesday, the day after visiting the flood-stricken Gironde region, in comments to TV news channel LCI. “In fact, tomorrow has arrived.”
Lucie Chadourne-Facon, director of Vigicrues, France’s flood monitoring service, said the succession of rainy disturbances had been “exceptional” and that soils were so full of water that as little as 20-30mm of rainfall could trigger floods.
“We are dealing with two parallel phenomena,” she told broadcaster BFMTV at the weekend.
“The fact that it is territorially widespread means … all the little rivers that have reacted are flowing into big rivers and everything swells by propagation,” she said. “And at the same time, we’re still getting rain that is reactivating the flooding.”
Vigicrues said “damaging flooding” was under way on the Garonne River downstream from Agen and was significant in the Marmande and Gironde regions. Although water levels had been slowly receding after weekend peaks, they were rising again on the lower Garonne.
Officials expect major flooding on Tuesday afternoon on the Maine River – including the city of Angers – and during the night on the Loire River in the Ponts-de-Cé area. Water levels are expected to keep rising throughout Wednesday.
France’s floods come after a series of storms have battered Portugal and Spain, leaving at least 16 dead and forcing thousands to flee their homes.
France releases suspected Russia ‘shadow fleet’ tanker after fine of ‘several million euros’
France released a tanker suspected of being part of Russia’s sanctions-busting “shadow fleet” called “Grinch” after its owner paid a fine of several million euros, a minister said in comments reported by AFP.
French forces and their allies boarded the oil tanker last month between Spain and Morocco after it started its journey in Russia, before escorting it to a port outside the southern city of Marseille.
“The tanker ‘Grinch’ is leaving French waters after paying several million euros and enduring a costly three-week immobilisation in Fos-sur-Mer,” foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on X.
“Evading European sanctions comes at a price. Russia will no longer be able to bankroll its war with impunity through a shadow fleet off our shores,” he added.
Russia steps up hybrid threat activities around Sweden, military intelligence chief warns
Meanwhile, the head of Sweden’s military intelligence said Russia has stepped up its hybrid threat activities and seems willing to take greater risks in the area surrounding the country.
“Russia has, in certain cases, stepped up actions and increased its presence – and perhaps with a greater risk appetite – in our vicinity,” Thomas Nilsson, head of Sweden’s Military Intelligence and Security Service (MUST), told AFP.
He added that he believed Moscow would “unfortunately” continue doing so – regardless of whether it succeeds in areas such as Ukraine or not.
“A certain desperation can set in, where you push even harder to reach your goals,” Nilsson said.
Nilsson spoke as the agency presented its yearly threat review on Tuesday.
He said Sweden’s security situation had continued to deteriorate, as it has in previous years, particularly since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia is the main “military threat to Sweden and Nato,” the review stated, warning the threat was likely to grow as Russia increases resources for its armed forces.
EU confirms hopes to adopt new sanctions against Russia by 24 February
The European Commission is just giving its daily midday press briefing, and it has confirmed plans to adopt the new, 20th, round of sanctions against Russia by 24 February, the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion on Ukraine.
Foreign affairs spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said:
“We keep on working on measures to deprive Russia of the funds, goods and technologies sustaining its war against Ukraine.
This indeed includes the 20th package that you have mentioned, and indeed we aim to adopt it … by 24 February, as the High Representative [Kaja Kallas] mentioned at the last foreign affairs council. Member states are discussing it.”
Kyiv’s forces made fastest battlefield gains since 2023, analysis finds
Ukraine has reportedly recaptured 201 sq km (78 sq miles) from Russia between Wednesday and Sunday last week, taking advantage of a Starlink shutdown for Russian forces, according to an Agence France-Presse analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The recaptured area is almost equivalent to the Russian gains for the entire month of December and is the most land retaken by Kyiv’s forces in such a short period since a June 2023 counteroffensive.
The recaptured land is concentrated mainly to the east of the city of Zaporizhzhia, in an area where Russian troops have made significant progress since mid-2025.
“These Ukrainian counterattacks are likely leveraging the recent block on Russian forces’ access to Starlink, which Russian milbloggers (military bloggers) have claimed is causing communications and command and control issues on the battlefield,” said the ISW thinktank.
Russia threatens to deploy navy to protect vessels from ‘western piracy’
Pjotr Sauer
Russian affairs reporter
A senior Russian official has said Moscow could deploy its navy to protect Russian-linked vessels from potential European seizures, raising the prospect of retaliatory action against European shipping as pressure on the Kremlin’s so-called shadow fleet intensifies.
Nikolai Patrushev, a former FSB director who heads Russia’s maritime board, said on Tuesday that the country’s navy should be ready to counter what he described as “western piracy”.
“If this situation cannot be resolved peacefully, the navy will break any blockade and move to eliminate it. And let’s not forget that many vessels sail the seas under European flags – we, too, may take an interest in what they are carrying and where they are headed,” he told the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty.
Patrushev added that any attempt to impose a maritime blockade on Russia would be illegal under international law, claiming that the EU’s use of the term “shadow fleet” had no legal basis.
The term shadow fleet refers to an estimated 1,500 ageing or lightly regulated oil tankers operating under opaque ownership structures to help Russia export crude to buyers such as China and India while circumventing western sanctions. More than 600 vessels have been targeted by sanctions from the EU, UK and US. These measures have helped curb Russian oil revenues.
Patrushev’s remarks came as the British defence secretary, John Healey, met European counterparts on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference to discuss possible moves to seize tankers linked to Russia’s shadow fleet.
EU to investigate Shein over sale of childlike sex dolls and weapons
Lisa O’Carroll
Elsewhere, the European Union is to open a formal investigation into the Chinese retailer Shein over suspected breaches of European laws including the sale of childlike sex dolls and weapons.
The European Commission said on Tuesday it had launched the inquiry after demanding information from the fast-growing company last year.
A senior EU official also pointed to reports of clothes, cosmetics, electronic products that were not compliant with EU law.
The investigation will examine three areas of Shein’s service that have given cause for concern.
Apart from the sale of illegal products, it will also look at the “addictive design of the service Shein is providing”, an EU official said, including bonus points programmes, gamification and rewards “that may lead to a risk of users’ mental wellbeing”.
This is the second investigation launched into the addictive design of an online retail platform, after an inquiry launched into Temu in late 2024.
The EU also said that Shein’s recommender systems were opaque and might not meet the transparency requirements of the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
Orbán seeks to cash in on Rubio’s endorsement in Budapest as he gears up for key election
Meanwhile, over in Hungary, the country’s embattled prime minister Viktor Orbán is trying to make the most from yesterday’s visit by the US secretary of state Marco Rubio as he hopes to shore up his support ahead of a key parliamentary election in April.
In a social media edit set to over-the-top cinematic music, Orbán highlighted Rubio’s lengthy endorsement of the current Hungarian regime, praising “a golden era of relations between our countries and the PM’s relationship with Donald Trump.
Rubio’s visit to Hungary and Slovakia, the two EU countries that have kept close relations with Russia despite its aggression on Ukraine and repeatedly opposed further sanctions on Moscow, come just after his appearance at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend.
The Hungarian prime minister published or reposted a dozen or so posts about Rubio’s visit to Hungary, including further praise from the official US state department’s account.
It was interspersed only by a clip accusing, erm, Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelenskyy of interference in the country’s electoral campaign, without offering any evidence.
Independent polling agencies suggest that Orbán’s Fidesz party is trailing about 10 percentage points behind Péter Magyar’s opposition Tisza party.
Choice of Geneva marks first time talks will be held in Europe
Luke Harding in Kyiv and Pjotr Sauer
The choice of Switzerland marks the first time the talks involving Russia will be held on European soil after earlier rounds in Abu Dhabi and Istanbul.
The choice of Geneva appears to have been pushed by Washington. The Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are expected to lead US engagement with Russia and Ukraine, are scheduled to hold separate meetings with Iranian officials in the city.
US president Donald Trump, who throughout his second presidency has veered between criticising Moscow and Kyiv, reverted this weekend to placing blame on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, suggesting Ukraine was holding up efforts to end the war.
Russian strikes show disregard for peace talks, Ukrainian foreign minister says
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the overnight Russian attack on Ukraine was instructive to show “the extent to which Russia disregards peace efforts.”
“Moscow only understands the language of pressure. It will not take diplomacy seriously if it is not backed by strength,” he warned.
Sybiha called for a new package of sanctions – one is being prepared by the EU for the fourth anniversary of the full-scale aggression next week – and moves against Russia’s shadow bleet.
We are getting a short line from the Kremlin, via Reuters, that the three-way talks with Ukraine and the US are expected to continue tomorrow, with “no news expected today.”
Let’s see about that.
‘Ukraine better come to table fast,’ Trump says on Ukraine-Russia talks
Asked about the talks in Geneva last night, US president Donald Trump said:
“Ukraine better come to the table, fast. That’s all I’m telling you. We are in a position we want them to come.”
Over the weekend, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy stressed that he was pursuing all possible channels of engaging with the US so to not give anyone – including Trump – an excuse to claim that Kyiv is not interested in the talks.
Morning opening: Zelenskyy calls for ‘justice and strength’ as Russian attacks continue just hours before peace talks in Geneva
Jakub Krupa
Senior Ukrainian and Russian officials are meeting in Switzerland for another round of talks brokered by the Trump administration, days before the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As Luke Harding and Pjotr Sauer explain, the two-day meeting is expected to mirror negotiations held earlier this month in Abu Dhabi, with representatives from Washington, Kyiv and Moscow in attendance.
“Despite renewed US efforts to revive diplomacy, hopes for any sudden breakthrough remain low, with Russia continuing to press maximalist demands on Ukraine.”
Overnight, Russia launched nearly 400 drones and 29 missiles of various types, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said.
“It was a combined strike, deliberately calculated to cause as much damage as possible to our energy sector,” he said.
He urged international partners to “respond to all these strikes against life”, urging them to hold Russia accountable for its aggression.
“Our diplomacy will be more effective if there is justice and strength. Strength of pressure on the Russian Federation – sanctions pressure and steady, rapid support for the Ukrainian army and our air defence.
For peace to be real and just, action must target the sole source of this aggression – because it is Moscow that continues the killings, massive attacks, and assaults.”
The US delegation in Geneva will also hold separate talks with Iran about its nuclear programme as tensions rise in the region.
We will bring you all the updates here.
It’s Tuesday, 17 February 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
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